Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory

Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, O.Carm., (21 January 1893 – 21 January 1984), was an Ulster-born immigrant to the United States. She was a Roman Catholic religious sister who worked as an advocate for the impoverished elderly, founding a new religious congregation for this purpose, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Her cause for canonization has been opened, and her life has been acknowledged by the Holy See as one of heroic virtue. She is honored by the Catholic Church as venerable.

Venerable

Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory

O.Carm
Foundress
Born(1893-01-21)21 January 1893
Brockagh, Tyrone, Ireland
Died21 January 1984(1984-01-21) (aged 91)
Germantown, New York, United States
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Patronage
  • Elderly
  • Against illness

Early life in Ireland

Venerable Mother Angeline was born in the Townland of Clintycracken into an Irish family who were very devote Roman Catholics. She was baptized Brigid Teresa McCrory[1] in The Chapel of St. Brigid at Brockagh very near the ruins of Mountjoy Castle, in the County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, still part of the United Kingdom.

Formative years in Scotland
Holy Family Catholic Church in Mossend, Scotland

When she was seven years old, her family moved to Scotland and settled in Mossend, moving into a house beside Holy Family Church. It was there in Mossend under the direction of Rev. Dean Cronin that the young Bridget McCrory began to receive her calling to the religious life. She found herself attracted to the life of the Sisters who came begging alms for the aged and infirm men and woman in their care. At the age of 9 or 10 on her own she changed the spelling of her name from Brigid to Bridget due in part to her love of the French language. Bridget would often help the parish priest of Holy Family Mossend, Rev. Dean Cronin, by arranging the flowers that were always placed on the High Altar. Before she left for her train heading to France, she visited him. He gave her his blessing and told her to pick any book from his collection in the parish house. Closing her eyes she picked ‘The life of St. Teresa of Avila’. Only years later would she realise the significance of this moment as, like St. Teresa, she became a foundress in the Carmel Family.

Rev. Fr. Dean Francis Cronin, Pastor of Holy Family, Mossend from 1907 - 1918.

Vocation

In 1912 at the age of nineteen after spending 12 years in Mossend, she left home to join the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic religious congregation engaged in the care of the destitute aged. She made her Novitiate in La Tour, France, where she took the religious name of Sister Angeline de St. Agatha, and after her Profession she was sent to the United States,[1] arriving 1 November 1915.

In 1926, Mother Angeline was appointed Superior of a Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Bronx, New York. During an annual retreat in 1927, she felt an urge to reach out to do more for the aged for whom she cared. She felt that the European way and many of the customs in France did not meet the needs or customs of America. She also felt that old age strikes all classes of people, leaving them alone and frightened. Being unable to effect any necessary changes in her present situation, McCrory sought advice and counsel from Cardinal Patrick Hayes, the Archbishop of New York. The cardinal encouraged her in her work and suggested that she expand her ministry to include the aged throughout the New York City area.

In 1929, in order to accomplish what she felt called to do, and with the blessing of Cardinal Hayes, McCrory and six other Sisters withdrew from the Little Sisters of the Poor and were granted permission from the Vatican to begin a new congregation for the care of the aged, incorporating Mother Angeline's ideals.[2]

Thus, though the formation McCrory received from her original congregation dedicated to the aged, she was now able to further develop this service with new methods. When established in 1929, The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm was the first American Community of religious women founded solely to care for the aged. From the very start, the Carmelite friars in New York took a deep interest in assisting McCrory and her companions. The Commissary Provincial, the Very Reverend Dionysius Flanagan, O.Carm., knew Mother Angeline as a Little Sister of the Poor when she was the superior of Our Lady's Home in the Bronx. In 1931 the new congregation became formally affiliated with the Carmelite Order and was henceforth known as the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.[3]

Later years

Due to declining health, McCrory stepped down as superior general in 1978. She is remembered as a kind and warm individual. She was fond of saying: "If you have to fail, let it be on the side of kindness. Be kinder than kindness itself to the elderly."[4] According to Sister Kevin Patricia, prioress of the sisters in the Bronx, "Mother always felt that it was important to reach out and clasp the hand of an aged person. It was important to have that human touch, that kindness. She would stress that if she were here today." [1] She received the Pro Ecclesiae Award, given by Pope John XXIII, and the Benemerenti Award, by Pope Paul VI.

Death

McCrory died on 21 January 1984,[5] her 91st birthday, at the St. Teresa Motherhouse at Avila-On Hudson in Germantown, New York, and interred in the congregation's cemetery.

Veneration

In 1989, her Cause for Beatification and Canonization was introduced in the Diocese of Albany, with the approval of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the case has now been referred to Rome.[6] The Diocesan Phase of the Cause was opened on 15 15 August 1992, and concluded on 13 April 2007.[7]

On 28 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree formally acknowledging that McCrory had led a life of "heroic virtue".[8]

The Diocese of Metuchen is investigating a reported miracle through the intercession of Mother McCrory. The alleged miracle involves a family in the Diocese of Metuchen who prayed to McCrory to intercede with God after their unborn child was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality. After the child was born, the defect was not present to the degree expected.[6]

Legacy

As of 2019, the Carmelite Sisters serve in 18 elder-care facilities around the country, plus one in Ireland.[9]

References
  1. Dossantos, Juliann. "Carmelite Sisters Remember Their Foundress, Now Venerable", Catholic New York, 11 July 2012
  2. "Carmelite Sisters for The Aged and Infirm: Mother Angeline Teresa". www.carmelitesisters.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. "Biography". The Mother Angeline Society. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  4. Profile, Foundress Archived 2010-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "The Carmelite System: Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, O.Carm". www.carmelitesystem.org. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. "New Jersey diocese to investigate alleged miracle attributed to Carmelite sister". Catholic News Agency. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ""Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, O.Carm.", Carmelite Friars - North American Province of St. Elias". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  8. "Zenit News Service "Fulton Sheen Declared Venerable" 28 June 2012". ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  9. Sue Cifelli (19 May 2009). "Catholic blogsite". Retrieved 22 November 2014.
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