Sister Bernard Helene McGuire, O.S.F., ministered 47 years in Baltimore Archdiocese, dies at 92

A funeral Mass will be offered Sept. 1 at Assisi House in Aston, Pa., for Sister Bernard Helene McGuire. A professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 72 years, she died Aug. 26 at age 92. A Baltimore native, she served in the Archdiocese of Baltimore for 47 years, primarily in secondary education and parish ministry.

Born Mary Helen McGuire, she grew up in the former St. Paul Parish on East Oliver Street, and graduated from The Catholic High School of Baltimore. She entered the congregation in 1945 and professed her first vows in 1948. Sister Bernard earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Villanova University and a master’s degree in physical science from The Catholic University of America.

She taught at Towson Catholic High School, The Catholic High School of Baltimore, and Cardinal Shehan School. She also spent a term as a member of the provincial team for the former St. Joseph Province. 

Sister Bernard also worked in the gift shop at St. Joseph Hospital in Baltimore; in parish ministry at St. Stephen Parish in Bradshaw; and as a volunteer and tutor at the former Mother Mary Lange School in Gardenville. She also spent five years in local house ministry at the St. Anthony of Padua convent in Gardenville. 

Sister Bernard also ministered in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Dioceses of Trenton, N.J.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Allentown, Pa.

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