…she believed that her efforts in teaching and coordinating the Religious Education and parish programs helped bring the love of God to the children and parishioners where she ministered.

Sister Ann Rose Connell (Sister John Marita) was born August 22, 1935, in New York City, one of six children —two sons and four daughters— of John Connell and Catherine Battersby Connell. Ann Rose attended St. Frances of Rome, Bronx, and St. John High School, White Plains, New York. She studied for two years at Hunter College and worked at Equitable Life Insurance before entering the Sisters of Charity on September 8, 1955. Sister Ann Rose earned her BA in History at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and her MA in Pastoral Ministry at Fairfield University, Connecticut.

Sister Ann Rose served for forty-five years in education. She taught in the primary and lower grades at St. Athanasius, Bronx, Blessed Sacrament, St. Peter, Staten Island, St. Paul School, Manhattan, and Resurrection School, Rye. In 1980, Sister Ann Rose was assigned as Religious Education Coordinator at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Elmsford, and in 1984 she worked in the parish at Sacred Heart, Mount Vernon, as C.C.D. Coordinator. Beginning in 1985 and through the next 18 years, Sister Ann Rose was Guidance Counselor at Blessed Sacrament/St. Gabriel High School, in New Rochelle. From 2004 to 2008, she volunteered her services at the Convent of Mary the Queen, Yonkers. She enjoyed driving the Sisters and especially delighted in listening to those whom she visited.  As more complex illnesses impacted her health, Sister Ann Rose moved to Kittay Senior Apartments in 2018 where she remained until her death on October 30, 2019. 

In her words, Sister Ann Rose loved parish work and believed that her efforts in teaching and coordinating the Religious Education and parish programs helped bring the love of God to the children and parishioners where she ministered. She enjoyed staying in contact with her former students. Sister Ann Rose spoke often about her wonderful relatives and friends who remained close and faithful to her. To them she was “Nancy,” a good listener with a great sense of humor, a good cook who enjoyed trying new recipes and delicious foods, and a faith-filled Sister of Charity who loved God and her Community.  

Rest in peace, Sister Ann Rose. With open arms, God welcomes you home to the place prepared for you.

Funeral services will be video streamed from Mount Saint Vincent Convent on Wednesday, November 6, at 10:30 AM. Streaming will include Memory Sharing at 10:30 a.m. and Mass at 11:00 a.m. We invite you to join us by using the link below.
https://venue.streamspot.com/217aa3db