Posted August 20, 2009

Compiled by
Angela Arrington

Sister Immaculate Mary Marconi, I.H.M.
Sister Immaculate Mary Marconi, I.H.M., formerly Carmela Marconi, died July 13, 2009, at Camilla Hall. She was born in Philadelphia and entered the congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1944 and professed her first vows in 1947. She taught elementary and secondary school in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia and Miami and the Dioceses of Harrisburg and Allentown. She retired to Camilla Hall in 2002 where her ministry was the apostolate of prayer. She is predeceased by her parents James and Rose Esposito Marconi, two brothers and a sister. A funeral Mass was celebrated July 16. Interment followed in the Immaculata Cemetery. She is survived by her sisters, Ida, Rita and Margaret, nieces and nephews, and her religious community.

Sister Maria Neumann Burke, I.H.M.
Sister Maria Neumann Burke, I.H.M., formerly Elva Burke, died July 17, 2009, at Camilla Hall. She was born in Philadelphia and entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in September 1933. She professed her first vows in 1936. She was the cousin of St. John Neumann, whose name she was given in honor of him. She taught elementary school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Dioceses of Allentown, Arlington and Richmond, Va. She retired to Camilla Hall in 2001 after 67 years in active ministry. She is predeceased by her parents Daniel and Elizabeth Stoll Burke and one sister. A funeral Mass was celebrated July 20 at Camilla Hall. Interment followed at the Immaculata Cemetery. She is survived by her cousin, Peter, and her religious community.

Sister Dolores Patricia Leyden, I.H.M.
Sister Dolores Patricia Leyden, I.H.M., formerly Anna Leyden, died July 24, 2009, at Camilla Hall. She was born in Philadelphia and entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1950. She professed her first vows in April 1953. She spent most of her teaching career in elementary schools throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She retired to Camilla Hall in 1997 where her ministry was the apostolate of prayer. She is predeceased by her parents Patrick and Sarah Murphy Leyden, two brothers, Patrick and Thomas, and a sister, Margaret. A funeral Mass was celebrated July 28 at Camilla Hall. Interment followed in the Immaculata Cemetery. She is survived by her sisters, Sally and Betty, a cousin, Sister Concepta Regina, I.H.M., nieces and nephews, and her religious community.

Father Raymond J. Christ, O.S.F.S.
Father Raymond J. Christ, O.S.F.S., died Aug. 5, 2009, of heart failure at Union Hospital in Elkton, Md. He was 86. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in 1941. He entered the seminary of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, where he continued his studies earning his graduate degree in mathematics from the Catholic University of America. He was ordained a priest in Wilmington, Del., by Bishop Edmond Fitzmaurice in 1951. He spent more than 25 years as a chaplain to two communities of monastic women, the Visitation Sisters of Holy Mary in Kent, England, and the Benedictine Sisters in Ridgley, Md. He retired many years later and was living at the Oblates home, Villa de Sales, in Wyndmoor while working at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Plymouth Meeting. Preceding his retirement, he ministered for 10 years as pastor of St. Richard Parish, Philadelphia. He is predeceased by his parents Edward and Sophia Helrigel Christ. A funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 10 at Epiphany of Our Lord Church. Interment followed at the Oblate Cemetery in Childs, Md. He is survived by his brother, Edward, numerous nieces and nephews and his confreres in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.