Former Loretto President and native St. Louisan Sister Maureen (formerly Sister Ann Maureen) McCormack died Sept. 24 at Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Ky.
Sister Maureen served as Loretto’s president for two terms, from 1986-94. She also served as president of The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado for four years and was dean of students at Loretto Heights College in Denver for six years. A funeral service for Sister Maureen was celebrated Sept. 29 at Loretto Motherhouse. At the time of her death, Sister Maureen was 87 and in her 66th year as a Sister of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross.
A 1950 graduate of Nerinx Hall High School, she entered the Sisters of Loretto in 1954 and was received into the congregation in 1955. She made her first vows in 1957 and her final vows in 1962. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, with a minor in philosophy, in 1954 from Webster College (now University) in St. Louis, a master’s degree in counseling and guidance in 1961 from the University of Denver, and a doctorate degree in psychology and education in 1968 from the University of Denver.
Sister Maureen taught at elementary, junior high and college levels. At Loretto Heights College, she served as residence hall director and dean of students and was a member of the college’s board of trustees. She also served in interfaith ministries, including serving on the boards of Eco-Justice Ministries in Denver and National Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D.C. Sister Maureen also served on several other boards for religious, education and business organizations, including the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Catholic Telecommunications Network of America, Center for Communications Ministry and more.
For more than 25 years, Sister Maureen gave journal writing workshops, including to women in prison. Sister Maureen was one of the founders of Women’s History Month celebrations in the United States; took part in the U.N. World Conferences on Women in Copenhagen, Nairobi and Beijing, designing an International Roundtable on Women’s Spirituality for the Beijing conference; was part of the National Women’s delegation to Central America and the Colorado State Leadership Initiative to the former USSR. She served as a consultant for management training for the U.S. Forest Service. Sister Maureen cantored in her Denver area parish and at Loretto Motherhouse, where she resided from 2017 until her death.
Survivors include two sisters, Janet M. Robbins of the state of California and Mary Beth Hughes of St. Louis. Burial was in the Loretto Motherhouse Nature Preserve Cemetery.
