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.