Sr. Rosemary Sullivan

Sr. Rosemary Sullivan, Franciscan Missionary of Mary, Miriam Community, Bronx, NY, died July 10, 2006, at Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY. She was born in Rochester, NY the daughter of the late John J. and Helen (Gore) Sullivan.She entered the Institute of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, at North Providence, December 9, 1947 where she pronounced her first vows June 13, 1950. She was missioned to Kennedy Memorial Hospital, now known as Franciscan Hospital for Children, where she served as a unit helper. After pronouncing her final vows in 1956, she was sent in mission to Divine Providence Shelter in Manhattan, NY serving as a unit helper with pre-school boys. After completing her BA studies at St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn, NY, Rosemary was sent in mission via Rome to South East Asia September 1959. She was a participant in the missionary ceremony in which she, with 19 other F.M.M., had the privilege of receiving her missionary crucifix directly from Pope John XXIII. Rosemary was the first Director of the Catechetical Center in Singapore.Sr. Rosemary was sent in mission to the U.S. in January of 1969. She became the Director of the Mount St. Francis Day Care Center in Woonsocket in August of that year until its closing in 1973. She served as a provincial councilor, and as a delegate to the General Chapter 1978 in Rome. After the General Chapter in Rome, she was asked to write "Listening attentively to the Word of God: Reading the Constitutions with the Word of God." In 1979, Rosemary was called to ministry in the State of Georgia, first in Hazelhurst with a new Franciscan Missionary of Mary insertion there and within a few months, to Columbus, Georgia. The parishioners in a small mission church attached to a larger parish in the city had asked the Bishop for a Sister to help in the parish. It was during these years that she fulfilled her hope of ministering in pastoral care and ecumenical involvement. She served as an associate pastor of Christ the King Parish, Hamilton Georgia. She initiated and directed FOCUS-Fellowship of Christians United for Service. After seven years in Georgia, Rosemary was called to a service as the provincial of the United States Province., and subsequently to six years as a general councilor for the FMM, with residence in Rome, Italy. In 1996, back in the U.S.A. again, after a short period of renewal, Rosemary was sent in mission to Miriam Community in Bronx, N.Y. She served for three years as a volunteer in pastoral care in Jacobi City hospital, with a part time employment as a staff chaplain. She suffered an accident while visiting her family. She is survived by her sister, Frances Sullivan, her niece Maureen, and two grandnieces, Julie and Christy, all of Rochester, NY. Visiting hours will be from 2 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2006 at East End Funeral Home, 725 Gun Hill Rd., Bronx, NY 2006, with a Prayer Service at 4:30 p.m. and a Mass of Christian Burial at Immaculate Conception Church, 754 Gun Hill Rd., Bronx, NY at 7 p.m. Burial will be at Holy Family Cemetery, North Providence, RI, July 14, 2006 late morning. Funeral arrangements by Anthony Funeral Home, Rochester, NY; East End Funeral Home, Bronx, NY; and Boyle Funeral Home, Providence, RI. www.boyleandsonfuneralhome.com