Sr. M. Helen Bendik O.P.

Sister M. Helen Bendik, O.P. Sister Helen Bendik, a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, died peacefully at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael on November 16, 2010. Helen was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the youngest of five children. Her family moved to San Francisco where Helen attended Sacred Heart Grammar School and graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy. Older than Helen by three years, her sister, Marie, was already a Dominican Sister of San Rafael. Helen entered the convent and became Sister Aloysius. For twenty-three years Sister Aloysius taught and was principal at Catholic elementary schools in San Rafael, Napa, Stockton, Antioch and Oakland. In the late 1970s she received special training in spiritual direction which enabled her to minister in the Archdiocesan Tribunal Office and as Director of the Santa Sabina Retreat Center. In 1983, Sister Helen earned a second Master's degree in Religion at Seattle University and served as part of the campus ministry team from 1984 until1995. Sister Helen was a beloved pastoral associate at St. Cecilia's Parish in San Francisco for eight years, coordinating senior activities and supporting the RENEW program. She was predeceased by her brothers, John and Joe Bendik, and by her sister, Sister Jeanne Marie, O.P. Sister Helen is survived by her brother, Tom Bendik, her nieces and nephews, Maureen Killpack, Cathy Davis, Tom Bendik Daly, Anthony Bendik, Caroline Bendik Nguyen, Michael Bendik, Lorraine Mitralsky, Judy Taylor, Jeanne Bendik, Maya and Stefan Bendik and Jennifer Bendik Kovacs, and by her Dominican Sisters. A vigil will be held at the Dominican Sisters Center, 1520 Grand Avenue in San Rafael on Monday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m. The funeral Mass will be held at St. Raphael Church, Fifth Avenue and A Street in San Rafael on Tuesday, November 23 at 11:00 a.m. Burial at St. Dominic Cemetery in Benicia will take place on Wednesday, November 24 at 10:00 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to: Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, Development Office, 1520 Grand Avenue, San Rafael California, 94901. Monte's Chapel of the Hills 415-453-8440