Sister Mary Cabrini Bonnett, former Bon Secours receptionist, dies at 97

A funeral Mass for Sister of Bon Secours Mary Cabrini Bonnett will be offered Aug. 6 at her order’s chapel in Marriottsville. Sister Cabrini died July 30. She was 97 and had been a professed member of the Sisters of Bon Secours for 67 years.

Born and raised in East Baltimore, she was the second of five children of William Bonnett, a Baltimore City council member. Her mother, Agnes, was noted for feeding the impoverished with the leftovers from her restaurant.

Sister Cabrini served for more than 20 years as the front-desk receptionist of the Bon Secours Health System office in Marriottsville. In 2007, the health system’s information technology department building in Richmond, Va., was named the Sister Mary Cabrini Building in recognition of her years of service.

After graduating from Notre Dame of Maryland high school and the Bard-Avon Secretarial School, Sister Cabrini worked at the Exxon refinery in Baltimore. But she wanted to dedicate her life to helping others and apply the religious values she learned as a child, according to a biography by the Sisters of Bon Secours. She heard about the work of the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours in 1948 and entered the congregation six weeks later to become a nurse.

Sister Cabrini graduated from the Bon Secours Hospital School of Nursing in 1953 and professed her final vows in 1957. She served as a nurse in Baltimore at Bon Secours Hospital, where she was known for her work in the maternity and emergency departments, and at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She also served at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and St. Edmond’s Home for Children in Philadelphia.

In 1964, she was appointed superior and administrator of the Bon Secours Angelus Convalescent Home in Wildwood, N.J., one of her favorite missions. In recognition of her work at that facility, she was named an honorary fire and police chief, and elected “Woman of the Year.”

Sisters of Bon Secours congregation leader Sister Rose Marie Jasinski said, “Sister Cabrini developed many lasting friendships during her years with the health system, many who came to know and treasure her wisdom, humor and insights into life’s mysteries.”

International Vocation Director for the Sisters of Bon Secours Sister Pat Dowling said, “From early childhood, Sister Cabrini had a love for those in need and learned that thinking of others always came first.”

Area Leader for the Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, Sister Elaine Davia said, “Sister Cabrini was known for her commitment to helping others throughout her life, whether working in a hospital or greeting people at the front desk of the Bon Secours Health System. Her warm welcome and characteristic way of ‘saying it like it is’ still brings smiles to those who knew her.”

Sister Cabrini is survived by her sister Sister Maris Bonnett of Holy Cross, Ind.

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