CHARLESTON — Sister Mary Agatha Sloan died at the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy Motherhouse Dec. 18. She was 93.
Sister Mary Agatha was born Oct. 4, 1912, in Hermansville, Mich. She attended Bishop England High School in Charleston and Our Lady of Mercy Academy. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy on Aug. 15, 1930.
Sister Mary Agatha spent most of her active years in Catholic education as a teacher and principal. She worked at Cathedral School in Charleston for 21 years. She also served on missions in Sumter and in New Jersey. She spent several years at the Charleston Home for Children. She had been in residence at May Forest since 1990.
Sister Mary Agatha is survived by three nephews: Patrick Montalbano of Illinois, Donald Minarich of Arizona and John Montalbano of Texas; four nieces: Mary Dausinas and Cindy Palait, both of Illinois, and Joan McKinney and Arlene McCormack, both of Wisconsin; and her congregation.
The funeral Mass was Dec. 20 at the Church of the Nativity. The rite of committal was at Holy Cross Cemetery. Bishop Robert J. Baker celebrated the Mass. He conveyed condolences from Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., who had been a student at Cathedral School when Sister Agatha was principal. They had kept in touch over the years and he had great respect for her, the bishop said.
“Religious women and men like Sister Mary Agatha were the backbone of American Catholicism especially through their schools in the manner of teaching and leading those schools,” Bishop Baker said. “They had contact with children, forming them and educating them, six and seven hours a day, five days a week, and were a fantastic influence on the generation of leaders that came about through their tutelage and guidance.”
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach, P.O. Box 607, Johns Island, SC 29457.