Sister Kathleen Duffy

Sister Kathleen Duffy

Sister Kathleen Duffy, RSM, age 92, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, died peacefully on November 30, 2025, at McAuley Convent in Merion, PA.

Kathleen was born on May 12, 1933, in Philadelphia and welcomed into the Duffy family by her loving Irish parents, Andrew and Margaret, both born in County Mayo, Ireland. As the youngest, Kathleen enjoyed the companionship and a bit of spoiling from her six siblings, three sisters and three brothers. Her faith was nurtured at home and in the Catholic elementary schools she attended. In June 1951, Kathleen graduated from West Catholic High School for Girls and responded to a calling to religious life, entering Mater Misericordiae Convent on September 8, 1952.

On March 12, 1953, Kathleen was received into the Sisters of Mercy community and given the religious name Sister Andrew Mary. She chose “With My Heart in His” as her lifelong motto and celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as her feast day. For the next 73 years, Kathleen devoted her heart to Jesus as a vowed religious, sharing her love with everyone God sent her way. Her passion for teaching elementary and high school students motivated her to spend more than thirty years in education. This ministry also included roles as assistant principal, religion coordinator, and librarian at schools and parishes across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Her students remember that “Sister Andrew Mary” made learning fun and memorable, often hosting spelling bees, religion bees, and various other “bees”! One of her most cherished assignments was her service at Mercy Vocational High School, affectionately called “The Tech,” where Sister Kathleen Duffy is deeply loved and remembered with gratitude.

In her later ministries, Kathleen dedicated herself to serving families by reaching out to single, separated, and divorced parents and their children through her work with the Family Life Bureau and Parish Ministry. Her caring nature also extended to Pastoral Care at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. In her final years, Kathleen’s compassionate heart found a home at McAuley Convent, where she served as Mercy Companion to our sisters and engaged in the ministry of prayer.

We rejoice with you, our sister Kathleen, that your heart is now one with God forever! May you rest in eternal peace and joy!

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