(1922-2022)

When Sister Mary Catharina Bereiter died on May 23, 2022, she was about a month past the celebration of her 100th birthday, an occasion marked by many well-wishers, proclamations marking the occasion from Adrian’s mayor and state senator, and a papal blessing from Pope Francis.

Mary Barbara, as she was baptized, was born on April 16, 1922, in Chicago to Edward and Mary (Orzali) Bereiter. Edward and Mary were both from the Covington, Kentucky-Cincinnati, Ohio area, and moved to Chicago not long after their marriage. They shared a home with Mary’s parents, who lived in the upstairs flat while the newlyweds lived downstairs.

Edward originally found work in a local factory but eventually became a mail carrier for the Post Office. The couple had five children: Edward, Mary, Virginia, Catherine, and Barbara.

Mary, the second oldest child, was just eleven years old when her mother died. “It was a difficult time for us but somehow we managed,” Sister wrote in her life story. “Our father was a very religious man so his faith and the way he shared it with us kept us going.”

Read more about Sister Mary Catharina (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 
 

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