A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the Chapel of Mary Immaculate in the motherhouse of the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham on May 16 for Sister Mary Marzen, who died on May 12 at Mallinckrodt Convent. She served as a religious for 77 years.
Sister Marzen was born in East Mauch Chunk, Penn., on June 3, 1928, one of 13 children of John and Amelia (Engler) Marzen. She entered the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham in 1947. At her investing later that same year, Mary received the name Sister Xaveriana after her recently-deceased aunt, Sister Xaveriana Engler, also a Sister of Christian Charity. Later, she returned to her baptismal name and was known as Sister Mary.
Sister Marzen professed her first vows in 1949 and her final vows in 1955. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Rivier College in Nashua, N.H.
Most of Sister Marzen’s ministry was dedicated to education. She taught in Elizabeth and Chatham in New Jersey. Starting in 1955, she spent 34 years at West Philadelphia Catholic Girls’ High School, first teaching commercial courses, then assisting in the Studies Office. When the Sisters of Christian Charity withdrew from West Catholic in 1989, Sister Marzen became the secretary at Nativity School in Philadelphia.
In 1992, Sister Marzen was transferred to Holy Family Convent in Danville, Penn., where she served the aged and infirm Sisters of Christian Charity for the next 26 years, first as administrator, then as treasurer. In 2018, she retired to the motherhouse in Mendham, where she participated in a ministry of prayer and presence until her death.
Sister Marzen is survived by the Sisters of Christian Charity; her brother, Edward Marzen; and many nieces and nephews, their spouses, and families.
She was predeceased by her parents, John and Amelia; her siblings, Anna, John, Margaret, Leonard, William, Robert, George, Msgr. Joseph, Francis, James J., and James F.; her aunts, Sister of Christian Charity Xaveriana Engler, Sister of Christian Charity Ursuline Engler, and Sister of Christian Charity Leonard Marzen; her cousin, Sister of Christian Charity Elma Chappell; and her uncle, Rev. John Engler.
Donations can be made in Sister Marzen’s memory to the Sisters of Christian Charity, 350 Bernardsville Rd., Mendham, N.J., 07945, or at sccus.org/donate.
