• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Sister of Mercy Katherine Marie Bell, a Catholic educator and advocate for social justice, died Feb. 21. (Courtesy photo)

Sister Kate Bell, R.S.M., who served as principal and pastoral associate, dies at age 84

February 27, 2019
By Paul McMullen
Filed Under: Local News, News, Obituaries

Sister of Mercy Katherine Marie Bell died Feb. 21 in hospice care at Sinai Hospital. (Courtesy photo)

Sister of Mercy Katherine Marie Bell, whose witness to the fight for civil rights in her native Alabama formed her nearly five decades of service in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, died Feb. 21 in hospice care at Sinai Hospital.

Known by associates and friends as “Sister Kate,” she was 84, and had been a Sister of Mercy for 65 years.

She gave 15 years as the principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Baynesville, and nearly 30 more as the pastoral associate of St. Francis of Assisi, in the Mayfield neighborhood of Baltimore City.

“I describe her as bigger than life,” said Sister Fran DeMarco, the director of mission services at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “She was always there for other people, and not just in our community. She was creative, and a great storyteller.”

According to an obituary prepared by her order, she was born in Montgomery, Ala., baptized Nancy Elaine and raised in the state. She attended Little Flower Elementary School and Convent of Mercy High School, both in Mobile. She came to Baltimore in 1953 to enter the Sisters of Mercy at Mount Washington, did her undergraduate work at the former Mount St. Agnes College, then returned to Alabama to teach in Mercy schools.

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 heightened violent protests over integration throughout the Deep South. That era’s landmark events include the 1965 March on Selma, where Sister Kate was teaching.

“She wanted to march, but her bishop would not allow her to take part,” Sister Fran said. “She asked her community, ‘What can we do?’ They made lunches, so that people could stop by the convent and take a break. That began her thirst for social action, and addressing the causes of prejudice and social injustice.”

Sister Kate also took to attending Mass at all-black churches. According to the obituary prepared by her order, Sister Kate said “these experiences greatly influenced my way of thinking and my future ministry.”

In 1971, she came to the archdiocese to serve as principal at IHM School. It was overcrowded, to the extent that students attended in two different sessions, and there were co-principals for a time, Sister Kate for grades 1-6 and Sister Fran for grades 7-8.

Dan Connolly, of the IHM class of 1983, was among the former students who responded to a Facebook post that shared the news of her passing.

“She just had a presence about her,” Connolly, a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, told the Review. “Her voice could get stern, but even then it had a hint of a soft country twang. … She was the first woman of authority I encountered outside of my home. She handled it well, to the point that I remember her 40 years later.”

During that time, Sister Kate earned a master’s degree in administration at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y., and then a master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park.

At St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Sister Kate led a number of ministries, according to Monsignor William F. Burke, its longtime pastor. She coordinated religious education, vacation Bible School and marriage preparation sessions.

“Our Christmas dinner basket outreach took off, she was responsible for that,” Monsignor Burke said. “She was our contact for Our Daily Bread, and began our connection to the Franciscan Center.”

Sister Kate supported Marian House, and in the 1980s supplied emergency care for an infant.

“She was a foster pastor for a night or two, her and (Sister) Deborah Kennedy, another member of our community,” Sister Fran said. “They didn’t have a place for a baby in their residence, so they emptied a chest of drawers and swaddled it there.”

Sister Kate retired from active ministry in 2014. A viewing will be held Feb. 27, 7-9 p.m., at the Leonard J. Ruck Inc. Funeral Home at 5305 Harford Road, and Feb. 28, 9-10 a.m., at St. Francis of Assisi Church. A funeral Mass will follow Feb. 28, at 10 a.m., at St. Francis of Assisi.

 

Email Paul McMullen at pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Paul McMullen

Paul McMullen, a resident of Austin, Texas, served as the managing editor of the Catholic Review from 2008 until his retirement in September 2021.

The author of two books, Paul has been involved in local media since age 12, when he began delivering The News American to 80 homes in his neighborhood. He began his journalism career with the Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Anne Arundel County, and spent more than 25 years as a sports writer for The Sun in Baltimore. His favorite writing assignments have included the Summer Olympics in Australia and Greece, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and “Feet for Francis,” a 2015 walking pilgrimage from the Baltimore Basilica to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Pope Francis says situation at U.S.-Mexico border is ‘serious problem’
  • Movie Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’
  • Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’
  • TV Review: ‘Mrs. Davis’
  • In honoring anti-Catholic activists, L.A. Dodgers strike out

| Latest Local News |

CEO, authors, NFL coach take part in Catholic college commencements

Connect program centered on empathy, listening

RADIO INTERVIEW: How to grow in your openness to the Holy Spirit

| Latest World News |

Experts hail U.S. surgeon general’s social media warning for youth mental health

Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’

As COVID’s emergency phase ends, Catholic experts share takeaways for the church

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • The Beauty of Mass in the Gym
  • Exquisite pizza, the school year winding down, and a shopping day (7 Quick Takes)
  • Experts hail U.S. surgeon general’s social media warning for youth mental health
  • As COVID’s emergency phase ends, Catholic experts share takeaways for the church
  • Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’
  • Florida Catholic wife, mom, doctor involved in sainthood causes says Eucharist is central to all she does
  • Nun’s incorruptible remains highlight rich heritage of Black Catholics in U.S., say experts
  • Under surveillance, government pressure, China needs prayers, observers say
  • Arson at beloved Illinois shrine leaves community ‘deeply wounded,’ says rector

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED