Sister Mary Kerwin RSM

Sister  Mary Kerwin, 88, formerly Sister Mary Victor,  died peacefully on July 18, 2016 at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung, New Jersey.  The only daughter of Michael and Mary Kerwin, she was born in Plainfield, New Jersey.  Though she attended elementary school at St. John School in Dunellen, she was familiar with Mount Saint Mary Academy having seen it as a child high on the hill off what was then Route 29 on Sunday drives with her family. She was delighted when she registered there as a freshman in 1941. She discovered her vocation to religious life during those formative years and entered the community upon graduation in 1945.

Sister Mary began her teaching assignments at St. Joseph School in Bound Brook, moved to Our Lady, Star of the Sea School in Atlantic City and then to St. John School in Paulsboro.  During the summers, she worked toward her first degree at Georgian Court College, now University, majoring in French. In 1959, she was asked to join the faculty of recently-opened Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville and served there until 1967. She was then appointed directress of her alma mater, Mount Saint Mary Academy. Having served with distinction at the Mount for two terms, she returned to teaching at Red Bank Catholic High School and then to St. Mary High School in Perth Amboy. In 1981 Sister Mary was appointed assistant principal at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon.

A ministry shift followed in 1993 when she began serving as an auditor in the Marriage Tribunal of the Diocese of Metuchen. Helping couples in the process of obtaining an annulment was an opportunity to bring the understanding and compassion of Christ to the wounded individuals she assisted. This time was interrupted by an opportunity for a year of study in Rome concentrating on the spiritual and theological foundations of consecrated life. In the company of 37 women religious from 26 apostolic communities and 13 countries, she walked the streets of Rome and came to appreciate better the customs, ideas, views and multicultural history of the Church and her companions. The program ended with two weeks in the Holy Land and Sister Mary reflected on the experience when she returned saying, “Being a pilgrim does not necessarily mean moving from one place to another, more realistically it means from one experience to another where Christ is more alive in us. I have returned to the United States, still and always a pilgrim.”

In 2004 she returned to Mount Saint Mary as a retired volunteer.  She always believed that the essence of life was to grow in love, enabling others to do their jobs and working for God’s honor and glory. In 2006 Sister Mary was inducted into the Holy Spirit High School Hall of Fame. On June 13, 2016, Sister Mary was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal by Bishop Paul Bootkoski, who was then bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Church.

Sister Mary is predeceased by her parents, Michael and Mary Boyle Kerwin, and her brothers Thomas and Lawrence Kerwin; Michael Kerwin and wife Patricia Kavanaugh Kerwin. She is survived by her nephews: Patrick Kerwin and wife Elizabeth; Michael Kerwin and wife Patricia; Brian Kerwin and wife Doreen; Timothy Kerwin and wife Betsy; nieces Mary Catherine O’Keefe and husband Kevin; Patricia Ann Kerwin; Maureen McGuire and husband Francis; many grandnieces and nephews and many members of the Sisters of Mercy, Mid-Atlantic Community.

Visitation will take place on Saturday, July 23, 2016 at the Immaculate Conception Chapel, Mount Saint Mary, 1645 Highway 22, Watchung, NJ  
Wake:  9:30 – 11:30 am
Welcome Home Service:  10:00 am
Mass of Christian Burial: 11:30 am
Burial will be in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield, NJ.

In lieu of flowers donations in Sister Mary’s name may be made to Mount Saint Mary Academy 1645 Highway 22 Watchung, NJ 07069.

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