Throwback Thursday: Remembering Sister Mary Clare Fritsch
This is a photo of Sister Mary Clare Fritsch from the 1940s.
From time to time, we get requests from many people on social media inquiring about various Sisters of Providence. This Throwback Thursday is an example of that.
So, with that in mind, today, we take a look at the life of Sister Mary Clare Fritsch.
Sister Mary Clare was born in 1906, in Chicago, as Lucille Kathryn. She entered the Congregation in 1930, receiving the name Sister Mary Clare.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and a master’s degree in zoology from Marquette University.
Sister Mary Clare taught in Evansville, Fort Wayne and Chicago. In addition, she taught at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College from 1946-49.
But it was her time at Immaculata High School – located in Washington D.C. – that sparked interest from our many social media friends.
Sister Mary Clare was at the school from 1956 to 1984. And, in 1960, she began a ministry as principal of the school, a ministry she held until her death in 1984. #throwbackthursday #tbt
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Jason, thanks for the latest “Throwback Thursday” featuring S. Mary Clare. I’m in the community today because of her invitation to me in my junior year at Central Catholic High School, Ft. Wayne. She asked me to come and talk to her because she thought I’d make a “good sister.” If she had not invited me to consider religious life, I truly believe I would not have entered the Sisters of Providence in 1944.
I did not have her as a teacher, but I know she was an excellent teacher as well as administrator.
Thank you, Sister Rita Clare. I truly appreciate it!
S. Mary Clare was my Principal at Immaculata in D.C. and invited me to consider joining the Sisters of Providence which I did after graduating from High School. She was a great Principal !
By the way, it’s always nice to hear these interesting tidbits of information! Thanks again!
This article does not begin to cover what a presence and what an influence S. Mary Clare was at Immaculata. Our class of ’66 is getting ready for our fiftieth reunion in a week, and I know that each graduate can testify to the outstanding quality of education we received due to her progressive educational strategies. “All doors swing out!” was the phrase she used to let us know if we disagreed with her non-nonsense policies where we could take that disagreement. But out of the 95-100 graduates each year, she never had fewer than 5 National Merit Finalists and eventually almost yearly also had a Presidential Scholar. At its closing, Immaculata was the undisputed premier girls school academically in the Washington, DC area. You cannot overstate the influence of this educational giant.
Great read.
Sister Mary Clare was new to Immaculata the year we were freshmen.
As I recall she was homesick for Chicago. It was because of her that I planned to major in biology in college. She was a huge influence on all those she taught. I am so glad she was a part of my life!