Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory

Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory O.Carm
Foundress
Born	(1893-01-21)21 January 1893 Mountjoy, Tyrone, Northern Island Ireland
Died	21 January 1984(1984-01-21) (aged 91) Germantown, New York, United States
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	January 21
Patronage	Elderly Against illness

Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, O.Carm., (21 January 1893 – 21 January 1984), was an Ulster-born immigrant to the United States. She was a Roman Catholic religious sister who worked as an advocate for the impoverished elderly, founding a new religious congregation for this purpose, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Her cause for canonization has been opened, and her life has been acknowledged by the Holy See as one of heroic virtue. She is honored by the Catholic Church as venerable.

Early life

Venerable Mother Angeline was born in the Townland of Clintycracken into an Irish family who were very devote Roman Catholics. She was baptized Brigid Teresa McCrory in The Chapel of St. Brigid at Brockagh very near the ruins of Mountjoy Castle, in the County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, still part of the United Kingdom. When she was seven years old, her family moved to Scotland. At the age of 9 or 10 on her own she changed the spelling of her name from Brigid to Bridget due in part to her love of the French language.

In 1912 at the age of nineteen she left home to join the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic religious congregation engaged in the care of the destitute aged. She made her Novitiate in La Tour, France, where she took the religious name of Sister Angeline de St. Agtha, and after her Profession she was sent to the United States, arriving the 1st of November 1915.^[1]

In 1926, now Mother Angeline was appointed Superior of a Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Bronx, New York. During an annual retreat in 1927, she felt an urge to reach out to do more for the aged for whom she cared. She felt that the European way and many of the customs in France did not meet the needs or customs of America. She also felt that old age strikes all classes of people, leaving them alone and frightened. Being unable to effect any necessary changes in her present situation, Mother Angeline sought advice and counsel from Patrick Cardinal Hayes of New York. Not only did he encourage her, but he likewise felt more could be done for the aged people in the New York area. Eventually, this need was recognized in the United States.

In order to accomplish what she felt called to do, and with the blessing of the Cardinal, Mother Angeline and six other Sisters withdrew from the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor and were granted permission from Rome to begin a new Community for the care of the aged, incorporating Mother Angeline’s ideals.

Thus, through the inspiration Mother received from the Congregation dedicated to the aged poor, she was now able to further develop this needed apostolate with new methods. From the very start, the Carmelite Friars in New York took a deep interest in Mother and her companions. In 1931 the new Community became affiliated with the great Order of Carmel and became known as “Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.”^[2]

Care for all the elderly

Being unable to effect any necessary changes in her present situation, McCrory sought advice and counsel from Cardinal Patrick Hayes, the Archbishop of New York. The cardinal encouraged her in her work and suggested that she expand her ministry to include the aged throughout the New York City area. Eventually, this need was recognized throughout the United States. In order to accomplish what she felt called to do, and with the blessing of Cardinal Hayes, McCrory and six other Sisters withdrew from the Little Sisters of the Poor and were granted permission from the Vatican to begin a new congregation for the care of the aged, incorporating Mother Angeline's ideals.^[1]

Thus, though the formation McCrory received from her original congregation dedicated to the aged, she was now able to further develop this service with new methods. When established in 1929, The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm was the first American Community of religious women founded solely to care for the aged. From the very start, the Carmelite friars in New York took a deep interest in assisting McCrory and her companions. The Commissary Provincial, the Very Reverend Dionysius Flanagan, O.Carm., knew Mother Angeline as a Little Sister of the Poor when she was the superior of Our Lady's Home in the Bronx. In 1931 the new congregation became formally affiliated with the Carmelite Order and was henceforth known as the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.^[3]

Death

McCrory died on 21 January 1984,^[3] her 91st birthday, at the motherhouse of the congregation, Avila-On Hudson. She was interred in the congregation's cemetery at St. Teresa's Motherhouse in Germantown, New York.

She was fond of saying: "If you have to fail, let it be on the side of kindness. Be kinder than kindness itself to the elderly."^[4]

Legacy

As of 2009, the Carmelite Sisters serve in 18 elder-care facilities around the country, plus one in Ireland.^[5]

Veneration

In 1989, her Cause for Beatification and Canonization was introduced in the Diocese of Albany, with the approval of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the case has now been referred to Rome.^[6] The Diocesan Phase of the Cause was opened on 15 August 15 1992, and concluded on 13 April 2007.^[7]

On 28 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree formally acknowledging that McCrory had led a life of "heroic virtue".^[8]

The Diocese of Metuchen is investigating a reported miracle through the intercession of Mother McCrory. The alleged miracle involves a family in the Diocese of Metuchen who prayed to McCrory to intercede with God after their unborn child was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality. After the child was born, the defect was not present to the degree expected.^[9]

References

External links

• The Mother Angeline Society