Sister Kathleen Moroney, who joined the Congregation of Sisters of Bon Secours at the age of 17 and was a nurse, died of cancer June 14 at her home in Marriottsville. She was 92.
“She would want people to remember her as a dedicated sister of Bon Secours, a woman who lived deeply her call from God in ministry and who loved people,” said Dorothy Brogan, a sister at Bon Secours.
Elaine Davia, director of the U.S. chapter of Bon Secours, remembers Sister Kathleen for her thoughtful kindness and humor.
“She would always say to me, ‘I’m praying for you, Sister. I know you have a lot of things going on,’” Sister Elaine. “She was a fun person, and she loved Irish poetry.”
Sister Kathleen was born in Limerick, Ireland, the second of four children. At 8 years old, she decided to become a sister of Bon Secours, an international Roman Catholic women’s religious organization focused on nursing and founded in 1824.
She joined the Sisters of Bon Secours in Cork, Ireland, in 1950 when she was 17 and took her final vows in 1958. After graduating from nursing school, she worked for hospitals in Cork, Dublin, Cobh and Tralee, often playing organ part time for them.
“Being a nurse was very gratifying, as I touched the lives of others by living the Bon Secours mission of compassion, healing and liberation,” Sister Kathleen said at a party marking her 70th anniversary with Bon Secours in 2022, according to Andrew Aldrich, a spokesperson for the organization.
After studying pastoral care in South Carolina, she transferred to the Florida chapter of the Sisters of Bon Secours in 1995.
She worked at Bon Secours St. Joseph Hospital and Peace River Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, before moving in 2007 to Greenville, South Carolina, to work at Bon Secours St. Francis Eastside Hospital. After retiring in 2008, Sister Kathleen began helping distribute communion to patients at St. Francis.
Sister Elaine recalled Sister Kathleen helping a mother whose baby died. Sister Kathleen, who did not speak the mother’s language, held her in silence.
“The way she made that mother feel just by being with her,” Sister Elaine said. “It’s such a beautiful example of her responding to the needs of the moment.”
In 2017, Sister Kathleen became a U.S. citizen and moved to Marian Hall, a home for the sisters, in Marriottsville. There are 15 sisters in the United States chapter of the Sisters of Bon Secours; all but one live in Maryland.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sister Kathleen proposed ending the Friday prayer sessions with a happy hour. She would coordinate refreshments and play sing-along songs on the piano.
“She was always the life of the party by telling her Irish jokes,” Sister Dorothy said.
The Sisters of Bon Secours continue the Friday tradition.
Sister Kathleen was preceded in death by all of her siblings. She is survived by her Bon Secours sisters and nieces and nephews throughout the U.S. and Ireland.
