The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 22 at the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at Mallinckrodt Convent in Mendham, N.J., for Sister of Christian Charity Mary Lawrence Cassidy, who died at the convent on May 19. She was 91.
Helen Theresa Cassidy was born in 1934 in New York City as the only child of John L. and Mary E. (Gerety) Cassidy.
While attending grade school at St. Rita School in the Bronx, N.Y., Helen contracted polio. She was in critical condition, paralyzed from the neck down. The doctor told her she would never walk again. However, with the help and prayers of family, friends, and acquaintances, and through expert therapy from the Sister Kenny Foundation (now known as the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute), Helen gradually regained her mobility, except for a slight limp.
In 1946, Helen graduated from St. Rita School. The Sisters of Christian Charity taught her at Cathedral High School (Immaculate Conception Extension) in the Bronx.
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After a short time with the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Illinois, Helen transitioned to employment as an assistant buyer in a department store, and subsequently as a bookkeeper for a bank, before pursuing her religious vocation further.
In 1954, after her work experience, Helen began her candidacy at the motherhouse in Mendham and was invested in 1955, receiving the religious name Sister Mary Lawrence. She made her first profession in 1957 and her final profession in 1963.
For more than 30 years, Sister Lawrence taught grade school in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the Paterson Diocese, she was assigned to the former Holy Family School in Florham Park, the former St. Michael School in Netcong, the former St. Joseph School in Newton, and the former St. Cecilia School (now part of Divine Mercy Academy) in Rockaway.
During this time, Sister Cassidy earned an Associate in Religious Arts from Assumption College for Sisters (ACS), Mendham, now in Denville, N.J.
Later, Sister Cassidy served as assistant to the Sisters of Christian Charity’s provincial treasurer in Mendham and as a bookkeeper at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Penn. She also graduated from the School of Bookkeeping and Accounting at the Professional Career Development Institute.
Sister Cassidy served as treasurer for ACS and was on the office staff at Morris Catholic High School in Denville. She then moved to Holy Family Convent in Danville, Penn., where she assisted with driving until her retirement. In May 2018, she was among the sisters who moved to the new motherhouse in Mendham. There, she participated in the ministry of prayer and presence until her death.
Sister Cassidy is survived by the Sisters of Christian Charity and her close friends. She was predeceased by her parents.
Please make memorial donations in Sister Mary Lawrence Cassidy’s memory to the Sisters of Christian Charity, 350 Bernardsville Rd., Mendham, N.J.07945, or at sccus.org.
