Sister M. Alexius Fitzgerald, I.H.M., a member for 73 years of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died on Feb. 3 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton. She was 94.
She was born on Dec. 15, 1926, in Brooklyn, NY, and was named Margaret Mary. She entered the IHM Congregation on Sept. 8, 1944, and made her temporary profession of vows on May 8, 1947, and her final profession of vows on Aug. 2, 1950.
Sister Alexius received a Bachelor of Science degree in education/English and a Master of Science degree in education from Marywood College.
She served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Patrick Elementary School in Spangler, PA, (1947); Holy Angels Elementary School in Hayes, PA, (1947-50); St. Monica Elementary School in Raleigh, NC, (1950-51); Our Lady of Good Counsel Elementary School in Inwood, NY, (1951-52); St. Thomas Elementary School in Providence, RI, (1952-59); St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD, (1959-72); St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, (1972-82); and St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Clinton, MD, (1985-2000).
She served as a librarian at St. Angela Hall Elementary School, Clinton Hill, from 1982 to 1985.
Sister Alexius also served as a seamstress at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 2000 to 2010.
From 2010 until her death, Sister Alexius was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She was buried at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.
Sister Mary Catherine Sullivan, C.S.J., formerly known as Sister Maria Auxilla, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph for 67 years, died on Nov. 27 while residing in Maria Regina Residence.
Mary Catherine grew up in Flushing and attended Mary’s Nativity and then The Mary Louis Academy, Jamaica. She entered the congregation in 1953.
Sister Mary Catherine earned a BA degree in Social Studies from St. Joseph College and an MS in the same field from Queens College. She further received credentials in Administration from Manhattan College and Fordham University.
Her ministries included: Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona (1955-56); St. Augustine, Park Slope (1956-61); St. Stanislaus Kostka, Maspeth (1961-65); Blessed Sacrament, Cypress Hills (1965-70); Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park (1970-1973); St. Angela Hall Academy HS, Clinton Hill (1973-75).
She served as the principal of Holy Family, Flushing from 1978-1986. Returning to the classroom, she ministered as a Social Studies teacher at Fontbonne Hall Academy HS, Bay Ridge, from 1986-2007.
Her wake and Mass of Christian Burial took place Dec. 3, in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood, followed by her burial in Calvary Cemetery.