By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
PITTSBURGH | Sister Margaret Ritchie, a former hospital chaplain and missionary to Haiti, died at the Convent of Mercy on March 20. A member of the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy for 72 years, she was 89.
Sister Margaret worked with a literally personal touch at the pastoral care department of Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale. A specialist in cancer patients, she served at the hospital from 1993 to 2006.
Photographer: Courtesy, Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy
Sister Margaret Ritchie, who died March 20, was a member of the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy for 72 years.
"She considered ‘healing touch’ ministry an important part of her life, and brought help and consolation to so many," said Sister Marie Celine Coan, who worked with her at Holy Cross.
While in Florida, Sister Margaret also undertook a special mission in Haiti from January to March 1997. She participated in Women to Women, a project connecting women of that island with those in the U.S. and elsewhere to support economic justice and recovery efforts on the island.
Born in Lakeland to William and Catherine Ritchie, she entered the Sisters of Mercy from St. Ignatius Parish in Chicago in 1944. She made final vows in 1951.
Her education included a bachelor of arts degree from Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University) and master's degrees from Boston College and Creighton University. She then taught at various Catholic elementary schools in the Pittsburgh area; she also served as principal at Holy Family in Latrobe.
From 1974 to 1986, she worked at Center of Hope Program at Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Monroeville, first as coordinator, then as director of spiritual programs; she also directed retreats at Mount Mercy. From 1986-1991 she ministered in several roles at the Christian Brothers Retreat Center in Adamstown, Md., including associate director.
For the following two years, Sister Margaret worked as a spiritual director in hospitals in Pennsylvania. Returning to Pittsburgh in 2006, she was a lector and eucharistic minister at community liturgies of her order, and she continued her ‘healing touch’ ministry.
Surviving relatives include brother William Ritchie of Chicago and step-sister Anita Ritchie Johnson of Statesville, N.C., as well as many nieces and nephews.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, March 27, in the Chapel at the Convent of Mercy. Interment will be at St. Xavier Cemetery, Latrobe.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 3333 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, or the Carlow University Scholarship Program.
