Sister Catherine Crilly, MSC
1935 – 2025
Before dawn on October 25, Sister Catherine Crilly (Theresine) welcomed the One she loved with her whole being. How beautifully Psalm 119, “Dawn finds me ready to welcome you, my God.” describes Sister Catherine’s readiness to meet her God, the One she served so well.
Sister Catherine began her life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in a loving home with her four siblings. She attended Catholic elementary and secondary schools where she was drawn to the religious life. She was especially attracted to the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus who received her as a Candidate in 1957.
After professing her first vows, and drawn to our congregation’s health care ministries, Sister Catherine began her studies in nursing at Sacred Heart Hospital School of Nursing in Allentown, Pennsylvania where she later worked as a staff nurse before doing further studies in nursing.
Sister Catherine was an excellent nurse – informed about those in her care and in the science of nursing. She was gently attentive to each patient and was a clear and practical student-nurse instructor at Sacred Heart Hospital in Norristown where she spent many years.
Sister Catherine treated the whole person: in her many years of Pastoral Care to the sick in Sacred Heart Hospital, Norristown, in our motherhouse infirmary and to the elderly of Saint William Parish in Philadelphia.
In 1999 Sister Catherine retired to the motherhouse community in Reading. In 2015, Sister began residency in a local nursing home for health reasons. In June of 2025, Sister Catherine joined eleven other retired MSC Sisters at Saint Joseph Villa in Reading. In her diminishment she was largely non-verbal, however, she gave everyone her full attention. This was especially true when Sister received Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Her eyes communicated her reverence and gratitude.
In these last years, Sister Catherine was for us a witness of utter acceptance and simplicity. In her living and in her dying, she was the Heart of God for all of us who knew her.
A viewing will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Saint Joseph Villa, concluding with Vespers. There will be another viewing at Holy Guardian Angels Catholic Church from 10 to 11 a.m. on Monday, November 3rd followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. Afterward, internment will be in the MSC Sisters’ Convent Cemetery.
United in the Love of God,
Sister Lorraine Molchanow, MSC