Sister Marie Lynch
Current Mission Location – Maryknoll Sisters Center- Maryknoll, NY
Marie Lynch was born February 11, 1936 to Catherine (Norton) Lynch and Edward B. Lynch in Roxbury, MA but grew up in Newton Centre, MA. She had 3 brothers and 1 sister. Marie graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Newton Centre in 1953. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Regis College, Weston, MA in 1957.
Ever since Marie was very young, the family received the Field Afar and Maryknoll Magazine. She loved reading them and, through her uncle, a Redemptorist missionary and army chaplain in Hawaii, became at the age of 9 a pen pal with Maryknoll Sister Henrietta in Hawaii. Marie knew she wanted to be a Sister; she had lots of choices and took her time choosing but picked Maryknoll because of their worldwide mission and spirit of adventure.
Marie entered the Maryknoll Sisters at their Center in NY September 2, 1959. She professed First Vows at the novitiate in Topsfield, MA June 24, 1962 and Final Vows June 24, 1968 in Guayaramerin, Bolivia.
Sister Marie’s first mission assignment was to Peru in June 1963. After finishing Spanish Language study in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1964, she began teaching at Santa Rosa School in Lima, Peru. From there, she became principal of a school in Guayamerin, Bolivia for two years. Then she returned to Lima and the Santa Rosa school. When the Maryknoll Sisters left the school in December of 1970, Sister Marie went up to Huancane in the Juli Prelature in the Altiplano of Puno, Peru where she did pastoral work for 7 years. Her love for teaching and her desire to be with people complemented the ministries that she had pursued.
Marie returned to the States in 1978 to be part of the team to prepare for the Maryknoll Sisters 1978 General Assembly. After the Assembly, she joined the Congregational Orientation Team for five years. During this time, she earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from the Maryknoll School of Theology at the Seminary in NY in 1984.
She returned to Peru and spent ten years in Tacna where four Maryknoll Sisters became the coordinator-administrators of what is now a parish. Her principle work there was developing the program of Family Catechetics in the parish and in the Diocese.
In 1994, Sister Marie returned to the States to care for her parents and after the death of both parents, returned to Peru and to Tacna where for ten years she was Coordinator of the Diocesan Formation Program for the pastoral agents of the Diocese, principally the lay people.
As part of a Diocesan team she also collaborated in starting a family religious education program in Tacna. In 2006 she began work as the coordinator of a Formation Program for pastoral agents in Tacna. This program was begun by Maryknollers at the request of the Bishop in 1992. The Maryknollers formed a group of lay people to join them in this work. The goal was always to stimulate the desire of the laity to be integral participants in the building of their Christian community which also allowed them to realize how important their participation in every aspect of society is. Along with this work Sister Marie made pastoral visits to the homebound and participated in a weekly bible reflection group.
In journeying with the people, Sister Marie saw her mission as “entering into a relationship with the people with whom you are living, working and building Christian community. That community becomes a testimony of God’s love; a community of solidarity with each other that responds to the challenges of today.”
In 2014, Sister Marie returned to the States where she now serves as a member of the Mission Institute Team at the Sisters Center in NY.