Maryknoll Sisters

Ossining, N.Y., March 24, 2026 ── Sister Cecilia Vandal, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister of 80 years known for her joyful and gentle presence, died on March 6, 2026. She was 98, and passed in the company of her sister, Alice, and her Maryknoll family.

Sr. Cecilia was born on May 22, 1928, to Estelle Nordin and Leonard Vandal, in Bottineau, N.D. She grew up in a large and loving family, with seven sisters ­­— Rose Marie, Theresa, Marguerite, Helen, Alice, Grace and Eugenia — and five brothers — Edward, Lawrence, Norman, Aime and Michael. Sr. Cecilia is survived by two of her sisters, Alice and Grace.

Sr. Cecilia graduated from Notre Dame Academy High School in Willow City, N.D., in 1946 and entered Maryknoll that same year on Oct. 5. Sr. Cecilia professed her First Vows in 1949, and her Final Vows in 1952. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Education degree from Rogers College of Maryknoll, N.Y., in 1953.

Her first mission brought Sr. Cecilia to New York’s Chinatown, where she served as a teacher from 1952 until 1954. Three years later, she would embark on her first overseas mission to Chile, where she worked as a teacher, principal and pastoral counselor at Maryknoll schools in Santiago, Pemuco and Talcahuano Huachipato. She also served as the regional coordinator of the Maryknoll Sisters Chile region for four years.

In 1979, Sr. Cecilia returned to New York to join the Maryknoll Sisters Mission Institute. Then, from 1982 until 1988, she served as a pastoral associate for parishes in Bottineau County, N.D., to assist in liturgies and religious education. During this time, Sr. Cecilia also provided aid to her family and aging parents at home.

Sr. Cecilia was assigned to El Salvador in 1989 to serve within the Soyapango parish communities, before moving to the small town of Santa Cruz, Analquito, to establish a church there. Sr. Cecilia served in the Maryknoll Sisters Center Rogers Community as Co-Coordinator from 2004 until 2007, before returning to El Salvador’s Soyapango. She was welcomed back “home” once again by the community, and served with the Council for the Deanery and the Evangelization Committee.

After retiring to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Sr. Cecilia found great joy in cooking, gardening, playing Scrabble and spending time with her fellow sisters until her passing.

A wake for Sr. Cecilia was held on March 19, 2026, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y. A Memorial Mass was said on March 20, 2026, also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Ossining, N.Y., March 13, 2026 ── Sister Patricia Gallogly, M.M., a Maryknoll sister of 75 years known for her adaptability and commitment to justice, died on March 1, 2026, surrounded by friends and staff at Maryknoll. She was 93 

Sr. Patricia was born on February 15, 1933, in the Bronx, New York, to Joseph and Rose O’Rourke Gallogly. Her parents and sister, Peg, predeceased her; she is survived by her sister, Kathleen.

Sr. Patricia was baptized at St. Jerome’s Parish, and received her high school diploma from the St. Simon Stock School. She would go on to complete her bachelor’s degree in education at the Maryknoll Teachers College in 1960, and attend the Pius X School of Liturgical Music at Manhattanville College.

In 1951, Sr. Patricia entered the Venard Maryknoll Society Community in Clarks Summit, Pa., after being inspired by stories in Maryknoll’s Field Afar Magazine. As she studied theology and missiology, Sr. Patricia’s spark for mission work grew into a flame — she received her first vows on March 7, 1954, and made her final vows six years later to the day, in 1960.

Sr. Patricia’s first mission took her to Africa in 1960, where she taught at the Makoko Girls Primary School for seven years. She also taught at the Musoma Junior High School Seminary for young boys in Tanzania, and at a girls’ high school in Machakos, Kenya. In 1980, she was called back to the Maryknoll Sister Center in Ossining, N.Y., to serve as the orientation director. Sr. Patricia returned to Tanzania once again to serve in the village of Kung’ombe, Bunda, where she taught local women how to knit and sew, while discussing women’s rights with them. She also worked as a health promoter, organizing support groups and trainings amid the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Msang village and Mwanza. During this process, Sr. Patricia helped develop the Uzima Wellness Center in 2004, where women received medical assistance.

In 2007, Sr. Patricia was called to the Eastern U.S. Region, where she continued her ministry of justice and peace in Yonkers, N.Y. She later became the representative for the Faith and Justice Network in Washington, D.C. From 2017 until 2020, Sr. Patricia served as representative to the Maryknoll Affiliates and Full Circle.

Sr. Patricia returned to the Center in 2019, where she spent time writing about her experiences in mission and keeping in touch with her many friends from Tanzania, until she passed.

A wake for Sr. Patricia was held on March 10, 2026, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y. A memorial Mass was said on March 11, 2026, also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Ossining, N.Y., Jan. 15, 2026 ── Sister Rose Patrick St. Aubin, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister known for her strength and immense love for people, died on Jan. 3, 2026. She was 97 and a Maryknoll Sister of 80 years. 

Dolores May St. Aubin was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, to Amos and Mathilda Binon St. Aubin on May 19, 1928. She is pre-deceased by her sister, Carol Jameson, and brother, Patrick St. Aubin. Sr. Rose Patrick is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws.

Sr. Rose Patrick and her family moved to Akrin, Ohio, where she would graduate from St. Mary’s High School. On Oct. 4, 1946, Sr. Rose Patrick entered the congregation at the Maryknoll Sister Center in Ossining, N.Y., determined to pursue foreign missions as her sole ambition. She made her first vows on April 6, 1949, and her final vows on April 6, 1952, in Likiep, Marshall Islands.

Sr. Rose Patrick studied at the Maryknoll Teachers College, before completing her bachelor’s degree at Chaminade College in Hawai’i, in 1978.

In 1950, Sr. Rose Patrick was called to the Marshall Islands of Micronesia for a brand-new Maryknoll mission. She started teaching first grade and began what would become her six-decades-long commitment to the people, Church and education of the Marshall Islands.

Sr. Rose Patrick dedicated herself to education development, fulfilling an immense need for teacher training. She also took part in initiating the Outer Island Ministries in the remote atolls of Likiep, Jaluit, Arno and others. Sr. Rose Patrick is remembered fondly by the Marshallese for embracing challenges on the islands with strength and creativity, and she remains an inspiration to government and education leaders.

In 2010, Sr. Rose Patrick returned to the Center, where she lived until her passing, surrounded by her friends and Maryknoll staff.

A wake for Sr. Rose Patrick was held on Jan. 12, 2026, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of Christian Burial was said on Jan. 13, 2026, also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Ossining, N.Y., Dec. 12, 2025 ── Sister Ramona Oppenheim, M.M., known as a loyal and fun-loving member of the Maryknoll Sisters for 71 years, died on December 3, 2025. She was 96

Sr. Ramona was born in Lima, Ohio, to Theodore Henry Oppenheim and Anna Elizabeth Mathias on April 28, 1929. She was raised in Coldwater, Ohio, with three sisters and four brothers, all of whom pre-deceased her. Sr. Ramona is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws.

Sr. Ramona was baptized at the Holy Trinity Parish, in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. She graduated from Coldwater Public School in 1946 and began her college career at St. Mary’s College in Indiana, where she developed a passion for history and social sciences. She would complete her B.A. in history in 1950. She also received a B.S. in education from Mary Rogers College and went on to earn an M.A. in history from the Ateneo de Manila University while serving in the Philippines. 

Inspired by the Maryknoll Field Afar magazine, Sr. Ramona entered Maryknoll at Valley Park Novitiate in 1951. She received the name Sister Ramona Therese and took her first vows in 1954. 

In 1955, Sr. Ramona began her first mission in the Philippines, where she worked in education in Quezon City and Lucena City for a decade. In 1965, she began teaching at Maryknoll High School on the Maryknoll College Campus, while serving as a local superior. Sr. Ramona returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y., in 1972, where she worked in the admissions office until 1975. 

From 1976 until 2004, Sr. Ramona served in the Mexico-Guatemala region, continuing her work in education with the addition of time back at the Center from 1985 to 1988. During this time, she was a member of the Mission Institute Coordinating Team and assisted the Center’s Physical Plant on the Blueprint Project. Sr. Ramona’s next mission took her to San Ysidro, Calif., in 2005. There, she worked in collaboration with the Maryknoll Society, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Tacoma Dominican Sisters to serve in immigration detention centers and clinics.

In 2010, Sr. Ramona became ill and returned to the Center in New York, where she remained until her passing.

A wake for Sr. Ramona was held on Dec. 9, 2025, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of Resurrection was said on Dec. 10, 2025, also in the Annunciation Chapel.