Age 96
A tireless advocate for justice, Sister Monica was widely respected and deeply loved for her work. Known by nearly everyone in the Michigan State Capitol, she promoted the common good on a statewide level and was revered and respected by policy makers and elected officials of both parties.
Educated at St. Francis of Assisi Parish Elementary School and Our Lady of Mercy High School, both in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 18, Sister Monica entered the Sisters of Mercy in Detroit. A prolific learner and reader, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercy College in Detroit, Michigan, a master’s degree in English and Medieval studies from the University of Detroit and pursued post-graduate studies at Columbia University in New York, New York.
For 15 years, she taught in Catholic schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan area. In 1972 she volunteered for the Michigan Catholic Conference, the official voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan on matters of public policy, on a state-wide ballot initiative and discovered her true vocational calling. She worked as their educational coordinator for ten years and, in 1994, was appointed president and chief executive officer – a position she held with distinction – until her retirement in 2010.
Sister Monica rose to prominence in the Church at a time when there were not many women in leadership. She broke new ground as the first woman in the United States to serve as the head of a Catholic Conference and as the first woman elected Chair of the National Association of Catholic Conference Directors. She also received the Holy Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice medal from Pope Benedict XVI for her service to the Catholic Church.
After a nearly four-decade career at the Michigan Catholic Conference, Sister Monica retired to the Mercy Circle retirement facility in Chicago where she continued to celebrate life’s joys surrounded by her religious community and her family. A person of great faith with a strong commitment to prayer and her spiritual life, she also had a deep appreciation for the arts and loved sharing music, theater, and the visual arts with her friends and family.