SISTER ALOYSIA MARIE MULCAIRE, CSC (1909-2012)

83 YEARS A SISTER OF THE HOLY CROSS

Margaret Mulcaire lived 102 years fully invested in her life.  She was born in County Limerick, Ireland and entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1927 from Fort Wayne, IN.  As a Mulcaire, she was one of many family members who entered Holy Cross beginning with her aunts, Sisters Aloysius and Gertrude who entered the Congregation in the 1850s.  Her two blood sisters, Maria Gemma and Miriam Gertrude, lived with her in many ministries and during the remainder of their lives as Holy Cross Sisters at St. Mary’s Covent in South Bend, IN.  Her two brothers Father Michael Mulcaire, CSC and Father James Mulcaire, CSC were also serving at the University of Notre Dame and in Illinois during her life in Holy Cross.

She began her teaching career in 1931 at Immaculate Conception School in Morris, Illinois.  From 1937 through 1985 she was the Supervisor of grammar schools throughout Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.  As both a teacher and a principal, she built a reputation of having a no-nonsense attitude which gained her the nickname “Big Al.”  Her sixth and seventh grade students feared her at first, but soon learned that the gruff exterior was a thin icing upon a rich cake of love and devotion for them.  Many of these students wanted to be assigned to her eighth-grade homeroom.  

Sister Aloysia Marie had a zest for life and she never stopped growing.  She was interested in everything and kept up with the news.  A very spiritual person, she continued to deepen her relationship with God through spiritual reading, especially books by her favorite writer Henry Nouwen.  Her clever Irish wit would lighten up any room and she loved to tease her sisters.  

When her formal teaching days came to an end, she served as the receptionist at Moreau Seminary for two years, and then she enjoyed a well-earned sabbatical at St. Catherine-by-the-Sea in Ventura, CA.  From 1988 until her death in 2012, she served in various capacities at St. Mary’s Convent.