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| Sr. Maribeth Tobin, RSCJ (seated on the right) with fellow Kenwood alumnae ~ Sept 17, 2005 |
I first met Sr. Maribeth Tobin in 2005 when I went to Albany N.Y., to attend a Conge that was organized by a few Prince Street alumnae from Rochester for the retired religious known as the Pax Christi Community. It was a spectacular day that included mass followed by a delicious lunch and tours of the Convent. The day concluded with games and prizes for all! In the above photo Sr. Tobin is surrounded by fellow Kenwood alumnae: Judith Fitzgerald, Vickie Donahue and Alice Roy Kolb.
Religious of the Sacred Heart Mary Elizabeth Tobin, RSCJ,
Former Congregation Leader and
Educator,
Dies in Albany
Religious of the Sacred Heart Mary Elizabeth Tobin, wise mentor, international
and local leader, educator, and spiritual director, died at Teresian House in
Albany, New York, on Sunday, September 9, 2012. An extraordinary model of how
to live religious life, she loved life and was always ready to take on a new
challenge. She will be remembered at a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 p.m. on
Friday, September 14 at Teresian House. Visitation will begin at 11:30 a.m. in
the chapel. Burial will be in the
Kenwood cemetery in Albany.
Maribeth Tobin was born August 1, 1917, in Albany, New York, to Charles
J. and Sara Devitt Tobin. She loved her city of Albany, and was happy to spend
her final days there after a lifetime of ministry elsewhere. Sister Tobin was
an alumna of Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albany. She made her First
Communion there and entered the Society of the Sacred Heart there, on June 18,
1939. She made her final vows on July 30, 1947, at the Society of the Sacred
Heart motherhouse in Rome, Italy.
Sister Tobin was predeceased by her brothers Charles Tobin and Edmund
Tobin, and sister, Alice Tobin O’Brien. She is remembered with fond affection
by many loving nieces and nephews, Religious of the Sacred Heart around the
world, former students and colleagues and the staff and residents at Teresian
House, where she was a warm welcoming figure.
In positions of leadership most of
her adult life, Sister was always straightforward, honest and often challenging,
but her predominant characteristics were an intense interest in the person she
was with and a passion to serve.
From 1942 until 1961 Sister Tobin served as teacher and principal in
Sacred Heart schools in Washington, DC; Noroton, Connecticut; Bethesda,
Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1961-64, she was local superior
for the Society of the Sacred Heart in Philadelphia. She had just been assigned
to be superior for the Princeton, New Jersey community in 1964 when she was
called to serve as assistant general of the international Society of the Sacred
Heart in Rome. She was responsible for dialogue and communication with all
English-speaking RSCJ throughout the world during the post-Vatican II years of
change, a particularly critical time for the Society of the Sacred Heart.
She returned from Rome in 1970 to serve as director of public relations
and alumnae relations for Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. From
1975 to 1989, she worked as spiritual director and counselor in retreat centers
in Boston and Washington, D.C. Sister Tobin also served as the administrator
for the Society of the Sacred Heart retirement community in St. Charles,
Missouri, 1985-92. She was for many a pillar of strength, love, profound
spirituality, and grounding wisdom. Even to her death she was full of life and
deep love and fidelity for the Society.
The closing Kenwood in 2008 was personally difficult for Sister Tobin, and
she truly appreciated the loving welcome the Sacred Heart Sisters received at
Teresian House. She was deeply grateful for the love and care she received and
wanted the staff and administrators to know her deep gratitude for being able
to thrive as she lived her last days at Teresian House.
An alumna of Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albany, Sister
Tobin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Manhattanville College
in 1938 and a Masters in guidance and counseling from Fordham University in
1953. She received a certificate in Spirituality from the Jesuit School of
Theology at Loyola University, Chicago, in 1975.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart,
4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.
The Society of the Sacred Heart was founded in France in
1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and brought to the United States by St. Rose
Philippine Duchesne in 1818. There are 330 members in the United States
Province and more than 2,500 professed members in 41 countries. Members of the
Society are committed to discover, live and announce God’s love through the
service of education for transformation, in diverse ministries, particularly
addressing the needs of children, young people, women and those in society who
are marginalized.
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One heart and one mind in the Heart of Jesus.
