Maryknoll, NY: Sister Margaret Sehlstedt, M.M. died on April 14th, 2024 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 98 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 80 years.
Margaret Sehlstedt was born on March 21st, 1926 in Baltimore, MD to Elizabeth (Renehan) Sehlstedt and Albert Sehlstedt. She had one brother, Albert and two sisters, Betty and Nancy; all of whom have predeceased her.
Margaret attended Mt. de Sales High School in Baltimore from 1940-1944. She then earned her Bachelors of Education Degree from Maryknoll Teachers College in Maryknoll, NY in 1950. She continued her studies learning the Japanese Language at the Yale Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Connecticut for one year. From 1951-1952, she spent time in Japan to further learn the language with Japanese teachers. During this time, she also taught English part-time in Kyoto, Japan.
Margaret entered the Maryknoll Sisters in Maryknoll, NY on September 6th, 1944 (from her home parish of St. Mark’s in Catonsville, MD). She pronounced her First Profession of Vows on March 7th, 1947 and her Final Vows on March 7th, 1950 both at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY.
For ten years from 1954-1964, Sister Margaret ministered in several parishes in Japan: Saiin, Tsu and Nagahama, before moving to the northernmost Province of Hokkaido at Muroran. Her ministry involved her working with the women in these parishes. In 1971, she moved to Tokyo to teach English at Sophia, the Jesuit University for one year before returning to New York to promote mission education in schools and churches for the next three years. Returning to Japan in 1975, Sister Margaret offered English Language courses, did religious work at the parish and diocesan levels, and volunteered at Kibo No Ie (Hope House) for the homeless.
Sister Margaret returned to the U.S. to take a course in Clinical Pastoral Education in Central Islip, NY and completed her training with a certificate in 1982. She then stayed at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY for three years helping in the nursing home. In 1988, Sister Margaret was assigned to the Eastern U.S. Region working in Cincinnati, OH as Chaplain at the Providence Hospital starting full-time then as a part-time volunteer from 1997-2000.
In 2012, Sister Margaret returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to retire where she remained until her death.
Funeral Services:
A Vespers Service was held for Sister Margaret Sehlstedt on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Thursday, April 18th, 2024 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.