SISTER MARY HENNESSEY

Mary Hennessy was my advisor at Harvard Div Sch my 1st year, 1985 until I graduated in '89. We corresponded maybe 3 times since then and I've kept 2 of her hand written, slightly tattered letters - kept them safe in all the intervening years of risks & lugging our stuff every couple years, lots of happy hoopla, & tossing stuff. You figure out what to carry - what to keep - like some very a cool nun. Sister.

I first met Sister Hennessey when I was thirteen years old, I saw an advertisement in a local newspaper about a teenage girl's club that was meeting monthly at the Cenacle in 1964. My mother had died two years before and I was overweight, depressed, and lonely with low self-esteem. This was a friendship that changed my life, she gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams of becoming a psychotherapist and author and loved me unconditionally. Mary was very busy in those years when she was the...

I had the wonderful pleasure to work with Mary at the Archives of the North American Province of the Cenacle. I still miss her very much. She was an incredible person and I feel very fortunate to have known her.

My condolences on Mary's death. She was a pioneer in so many fields and spent the last years of her life establishing a new archive operation for the Cenacle Sisters in Chicago. Her wit, engagement, and joy will certainly be missed. Her greatest gift was to be able to create order out of chaos. I can remember on several occasions when a heated discussion occurred, Mary was always the peacemaker identifying the common ground where rational debate could occur. Her witness to the Gospel never...

So sorry for Sr. Mary's Loss! My mother used to listen to Topic Religion, and remarked that Sister knew how to stand up for herself--give them as good as they sent!