Sister Agnes Stumpf, CIJ, former President of the Congregation of the Infant Jesus, Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, Inc., died peacefully at age 97 at the Motherhouse, Villa St. Joseph in Rockville Centre on Sept. 19, 2023.
Following her graduation from Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn, Sister Agnes began her nursing career at Adelphi University in the cadet program for nurses during WWII. Sister Agnes entered the Congregation of the Infant Jesus in 1947 to deepen her commitment to suffering humanity through a life dedicated to the sick poor.
Sister Agnes ministered to the sick poor in their homes in the Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, Inc., from 1950 to 1959 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and Jamaica, Queens. She was then appointed to the formation program of the congregation and served as assistant Mistress and Mistress of Novices from 1959 to 1968. During this time, Sister Agnes obtained her bachelor’s in nursing and her master’s in theology from St. John’s University. In 1969 she became the coordinator of nursing service at the Martin Luther King Wyandanch Clinic on Long Island.
In 1971, Sister Agnes pursued her master of science as a community health specialist at Boston College. In 1974, Sister Agnes was elected president of the Congregation of the Infant Jesus, a position she held from 1974 to 1982. At that time, the Motherhouse was in Brooklyn at 310 Prospect Park West.
In 1983, Sister Agnes joined the pastoral care staff at the Nursing Sisters Home Visiting Service where she served for six years in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County. In 1990, Sister Agnes became the executive director of the Nursing Sisters Home Visiting Service, Inc., which is now Catholic Home Care, Diocese of Rockville Centre. During her tenure in leadership in the religious community and in the Home Visiting Service, Sister Agnes also served on the board of directors of Mercy Hospital for 33 years. Following her retirement, Sister Agnes offered her services to the administration office of the Congregation of the Infant Jesus from 1998 to 2015.
Throughout her multiple careers, Sister Agnes remained committed to serving the sick poor, was a gifted administrator, and a beacon of hope and compassion for all those who encountered her.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Agnes was celebrated Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, at Villa St. Joseph in Rockville Centre.
Sister Ellen Glavey, RSM, (formerly Sister Mary Campion), age 85, a Sister of Mercy for 63 years, died at Maria Regina Residence on Aug. 7, 2023, after a long illness.
Sister Ellen grew up in the parish of St. Vincent Ferrer in East Flatbush. She attended the parish school and Bishop McDonnell HS.
She entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in September 1958 and professed her final vows in April 1964. She earned a bachelor’s in sociology from St. John’s University and a master’s in educational psychology from Fordham University.
As a young Sister, she taught in St. Patrick’s, Kent Avenue; St. Gregory; St. Jerome; St. Gerard Majella, and St. Patrick, Bay Shore.
After more than 25 years in the classroom, she was called to a new ministry, that of pastoral associate at St. Augustine Parish in Brooklyn.
It was here that her keen ability to relate to anyone and everyone blossomed, and she was recognized as a valuable instrument of God’s peace not only in the parish, but throughout the diocese.
One of her greatest joys was preparing children for the sacraments of Communion and confirmation, as well as being a model to adults in every facet of their spiritual development. Her mercy community also benefited from her talents as she gently guided the associates in their new-found lay vocations.
A Funeral Mass was celebrated at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Whitestone. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
