Mother Mary Bernard Laughlin, S.P. | |
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| Born | Mary Laughlin August 12, 1876 |
| Died | October 6, 1948 (aged 72) |
| Burial place | Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana |
| Alma mater | Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College |
| Title | General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods |
| Predecessor | Mother Mary Raphael Slattery, S.P. |
| Successor | Mother Marie Helene Franey, S.P. |
Mother Mary Bernard Laughlin, S.P., (August 12, 1876 – October 6, 1948) was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1938 to 1948. During her term, she coordinated the 100th anniversary of the Congregation, which was founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, and led the sisters through World War II.[1]
She was born Mary Laughlin to Michael Laughlin, an Irish immigrant, and Mary Slamon of Eaton, Ohio. The oldest living child in a family of twelve, Laughlin was a member of St. Patrick's parish in Fort Wayne, Indiana, until entering the Sisters of Providence on May 2, 1905. Taking the name Sister Mary Bernard, she was professed in 1907 and took final vows in 1915.
Laughlin attended high school at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Preparatory Normal School and also attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She began her teaching career with 8th-grade boys and displayed natural leadership, becoming principal in every school to which she was assigned.[2]
In 1925, Laughlin was elected First Assistant to the Superior General, Mother Mary Raphael Slattery. She held this position until she herself became Superior General in 1938.[3]
- ^ Sisters of Providence. "Mother Mary Bernard Laughlin". Retrieved December 22, 2009.
- ^ "Mother Mary Bernard". The Aurora. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. November 1948.
- ^ Logan, Eugenia (1978). History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: Volume II. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence.