Posted July 25, 2019

Sister Mary Ellen O’Connell, R.S.M., died peacefully July 14 at McAuley Convent in Merion at age 81. She was a member of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

Sister Mary Ellen’s life-long ministry in elementary education included schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the dioceses of Allentown and Richmond. She ministered as principal of St. Catherine of Siena School in Horsham and St. Paul School in Allentown.

In recent years she shared her computer skills with children and adults both in a school setting and at Mercy Neighborhood Ministries.

Sister Mary Ellen had a passion for enabling people to realize their fullest potential. Spending her full-time ministry as an elementary teacher and administrator, she then assisted adults preparing for their GED as a stepping stone to success in the workplace and the world.

Sister will be greatly missed by her family, community and friends.

The funeral was celebrated July 23 in the Convent of Mercy in Merion Station, followed by burial in the cemetery of the Sisters of Mercy.