A Home Away from Home

*Sister Irene Kosak reviews an assignment in 1968*

*Sister Magdalene Lovrich as principal in 1968*

*Sister Therese Sedlock teaches music in 1968*

patty ryan | mount assisi academy 1968

March is Women’s History Month. What better time than for our alumnae to honor members of the School Sisters of St. Francis
who touched their lives back then and who they consider to have been especially influential in who they are now.

Then

“My home life was less than perfect for me, and The Mount was my safe haven. I enjoyed every day I went to school and used to dream for many years of going back to school, even though I’d already graduated. Sister Irene (Kosak) gave me hope, and Sister Mary Magdalene (Lovrich) made me feel worthy. Sister Therese (Sedlock) made my heart sing with joy. I loved every minute of the four years of school. They were the happiest of my whole life.”

Now

Patty lives in Arizona and is retired from a career in retail management.

Sister Irene left the community in 1970, married, and went on to teach for many years in New York and New Jersey, even garnering teacher of the year honors during her tenure in Bayshore, N.J. She died in 2018.

Sister Therese went on to teach at St. Francis Academy in San Antonio, Texas, before establishing Our Lady of Solitude House of Prayer in Arizona, where she served for many years before her death in 2004.

Principal of Mt. Assisi Academy from 1954 to 1970, Sister Magdalene was later elected provincial councilor and secretary of the Pittsburgh Province and ministered at the Generate in Rome for a time. She remained soft-spoken and meticulous until her death in 2015.