MARRIOTTSVILLE, Md.—Sister Mary Catherine Rogers, a Sister of Bon Secours, died on May 5 of pancreatic cancer. She was 74.
Sister Mary Catherine was the only child of Katheryn and William Rogers. She grew up in Baltimore and attended Towson Catholic High. She entered the religious congregation of Bon Secours in 1957, the year she graduated from the Bon Secours School of Nursing.
After completing her novitiate, she served in Bon Secours Hospital before receiving her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Catholic University of America.
In 1965, she served as director of Obstetrics at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, Va. In 1971, Sister Mary Catherine transferred to Grosse Pointe, Mich., where she worked in the emergency room and the coronary care unit for 10 years.
She returned to Baltimore just after celebrating her 25th jubilee. In 1983, she was elected as a councilor to the congregation leadership team in Rome, Italy.
She returned to the United States in 1989, ministering to the retired sisters in Marian Hall in Marriottsville before moving to Charleston, S.C., to serve as vice president of mission for St. Francis Xavier Hospital and as a board member.
From there, she went to Venice, Fla., and in 1999, became senior vice president of sponsorship for Florida, a position she held until her retirement in 2005.
She worked with the mission staff in the Bon Secours facilities to ensure that the ethical and religious directives and other mission interests of her order were being followed.
In 2004, Sister Mary Catherine’s duties expanded to include caring for those devastated by Hurricane Charley, which hit southwestern Florida in 2004 and caused a significant amount of structural damage to the Bon Secours St. Joseph facility in Port Charlotte, Fla. The emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital was the only one in the area to stay open during the storm.
During her many years in Florida, Sister Mary Catherine was president and a member of the board of directors of Bon Secours Maria Manor, Bon Secours St. Joseph Healthcare Group and Bon Secours Venice Healthcare Corp.
She was also an active member of the Congregation of Bon Secours, serving in such roles as congregation treasurer, a member of Bon Secours volunteer ministry committee, a member of the provincial council and co-chair of a provincial general assembly. She was also a board member of the Bon Secours Health System from 1991-97.
Sister Mary Catherine is survived by her religious community.