Sr. Cecilia Murphy, RSM

Sister Cecilia Murphy (Sister M. John Berchmans), a Pittsburgh Sister of Mercy for 65 years, died at the Mercy Hall Infirmary of the Convent of Mercy on June 22, 2022. Born in Latrobe, Pa., she was 84 years old. Daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth (Moelk) Murphy, Sister Cecilia entered the Sisters of Mercy from Holy Family Parish, Latrobe, Pa. in 1956 and made final vows in 1962.

In addition to a BA from Mount Mercy (Carlow University), a Masters from Manhattanville College, and a PhD in Historical Theology from the University of St. Louis, Missouri. Sister Cecilia also studied theology at the University of Muenster in Germany and the University of Louvain in Belgium. 

A shy person by nature, her life was marked by 65 years of kind and compassionate service. Sister Cecilia taught in local schools, including Our Lady of Mercy Academy and St. Peter grade school. For more than 20 years, she served at St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa., as a teacher, academic dean, associate professor in Pastoral Theology, director of Field Education, and chair of several, national accreditation commissions. She received awards in recognition of her service to the Church and to education. 

As she once described it, Cecilia was “stretched into leadership.” She was elected president of the Pittsburgh community of the Sisters of Mercy in 1974 and served in that capacity until 1982. In 2004 she was elected as the first vice president of the community. Cecilia’s smile was the hallmark of her life, particularly in the last days of her life when verbal communication was difficult.

Preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Mary Broad, Sister Perpetua Murphy, SC, Ann Rusnock, Patrick, Hugh, Eugene, and Michael Murphy, and Bernadette Pevarnik, Sister Cecilia is survived by many nieces and nephews. A private funeral liturgy will be followed by interment in St. Xavier Cemetery, Latrobe. Arrangements entrusted to the EDWARD P. KANAI FUNERAL HOME, 500 Greenfield Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 3333 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213 or the Carlow University Scholarship Fund.

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