Sister Mary Elizabeth Keyser, M.M. celebrated her 80th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born and raised in St. Matthias Parish, Philadelphia, Sister Mary Elizabeth Keyser has worked in catechetics, as a school principal and religious education instructor during her nearly 80 years as a Maryknoll Sister.
She was initially assigned to catechetical work at the historic San Juan Bautista Mission, San Juan Bautista, CA, from 1943-1947. Then, after two years working at Bethany House, a home for ill and elderly Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, NY, Sister Mary Elizabeth was sent to Bolivia, where worked as a principal in Riberalta, then Cochabamba, for nearly ten years.
She was then sent to Chile where she taught Grades 3 through 5 in Santiago from 1959-1962, supervised religious education instruction in Talcuhano from 1962-1971, served as Executive Secretary of the Instituto de Catequesis Latino Americano in Santiago, overseeing general administration of programming from 1971-1973, provided a prayer presence, while also serving in pastoral and catechetical ministry at a local parish in El Quisco from 1974-1979, director of the Carmelite House of Prayer, Santiago, from 1979-1984, and finally as coordinator for the Center House of the Chile Region, also in Santiago, from 1990-1992.
She currently lives in retirement at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.