2026 Jubilarian Celebrating 75 Years
Along with service to God and the poor, family and heritage are at the center of Sr. Catherine McCarthy’s life. She came from a small, Irish family with many members in the extended family. Among those who influenced her growing up were her mother and father, as well as her brother, who was two years older than she, her grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Her brother, Bill, entered the Maryknoll Junior Seminary in Massachusetts after his third year of high school. Years later, he was ordained at Maryknoll and assigned to Tanzania in East Africa. Little did he know that his sister would be following his calling to be a missionary. Catherine was active with the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate (MCA) during high school. She attended a three-week Catholic Action Summer School held at the Motherhouse with other teenage girls. This offered her a close up view of the life of a Missionary Servant. It was this experience and working with the Sisters in visiting families in the Brooklyn public housing projects that captured Catherine’s interest in entering the community. Her parents did not completely understand why their two children were attracted to the religious life. They never considered themselves to be pious or “overly” religious.
Another major influence on Sr. Catherine’s life was her Irish dancing lessons as a pre-teen. She says that involvement in her cultural heritage at such a young age helped her to realize that youth of all cultures ought to have the opportunity of exposure to the arts of their particular culture. When in ministry at Dr. White Community Center in Brooklyn, Sr. Catherine encouraged African dance and the Latino Steel Band so that the children and youth would have the opportunity to grow with an appreciation of their own culture. During her 16 years serving at Dr. White Community Center, she worked with other MSBTs to develop educational and cultural programs along with outreach activities with local churches, health facilities, day care centers and schools.
Following her time in Brooklyn, Sr. Catherine was missioned to Puerto Rico where she and Sr. Genevieve Gomez, MSBT collaborated in developing leaders in public housing projects in both Humacao and Ponce sponsored by Centros Sor Isolina Ferré. Later, when she arrived at the Motherhouse in Philadelphia, Sr. Rosemarie Jefferson, MSBT invited her to volunteer tutoring students at the Inn Dwelling program in Germantown. When they noticed several of the students coming for tutoring were traveling for hours on public transportation to get to Germantown, program coordinators Sr. Rosemarie and Brother Al looked into the possibility of expanding the program to a second location in Northeast Philadelphia. With Sr. Catherine and Sr. Genevieve’s commitment to work with students at the new site, Inn Dwelling II, was established at the Motherhouse.
With education as a way out of poverty, Sr. Catherine has made her life and ministry raising up families and youth who have been left behind in our society. The hallmarks of her ministry have been enthusiasm, compassion, discipline and a love for cultural diversity. We are grateful to our Triune God for these 75 years of Sr. Catherine’s service as a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity.