Posted November 22, 2016

Sister Columbkill O’Connor, O.S.F., 102, died Nov. 6 in Assisi House, Aston. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 78 years.

Sister Columbkill (Bridget Mary O’Connor) was born in Castleisland, County Kerry, Ireland. She entered the congregation in 1935 and professed her first vows in 1938. Sister Columbkill earned a B.S. in education from Mount St. Mary University in Emmitsburg, Md., and ministered primarily in education.

Sister Columbkill ministered for 52 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She spent 41 of those years at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Middle River where she taught and later volunteered as a remedial teacher. During her last year in the parish she served in local house ministry in the parish convent. She also taught for nine years at Immaculate Conception Convent in Towson and two years at St. Peter Claver School in Baltimore.

Sister Columbkill’s 13 years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., included teaching at Nativity School in Washington and at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Bethesda, Maryland.

Additional ministry experience included three years in the Diocese of Wilmington teaching at St. Mary School in Wilmington and at Immaculate Conception School in Elkton, Md. She also taught for one year at St. Joseph Academy in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 10. Burial followed in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston.

Sister Columbkill is survived by her nieces and nephews and by her Franciscan family.