Sister Marian Brady

Sister Marian Brady passed away on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, at the Gibson Hospice Center at Union Hospital, Terre Haute. She was 97-years-old and had been a Sister of Providence for 75 years.

Commentary

By Sister Ann Casper, SP

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas
Bestow on me, O Lord my God,
an understanding that knows Thee,
wisdom in finding Thee,
a way of life that is pleasing to Thee,
perseverance that faithfully waits for Thee,
and confidence that I shall embrace Thee at the last.

The prayer just read, attributed to the influential 13th century philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, is one I found on a prayer card in Sister Marian’s folder. Since it was the only prayer card in her folder, I concluded that it must have been very special to her.

As I read it, the prayer seemed to portray yearnings that Marian herself may have prayed for many times in the course of her 97 years: Understanding, wisdom, a life pleasing to God and perseverance.

Mariana Brady was born to John and Mary Rupert Brady on March 19, 1927, in Washington, D.C. She is survived by her brother Rupert, her sister Therese, 10 nieces and nephews and several great-nieces and nephews. Her brother Msgr. John Brady preceded her in death in 2021.

Mariana was taught by the Sisters of Providence both at Dunblane and Immaculata High School in Washington, D.C. In her oral history recorded by Providence Associate Deb Griffey, Marian related a memorable experience she had while in grade school at Dunblane. “The Mother Superior of the Sisters of Providence came to Immaculata to visit. All the Dunblane girls were to dress in fine dresses and descend the staircase to be introduced one at a time to the Mother Superior. Marian’s godmother was an excellent seamstress, so she had no trouble finding the perfect dress to wear. Her mother suggested Mariana borrow her string of pearls to brighten the dress. She did.

“The girls lined up along the upper balcony of the stairway, each one to descend at their introduction to the Mother Superior waiting at the bottom. Marian turned the corner to begin her journey down the stairs with other girls in front of and behind her, when, as she said: ‘Tragedy struck!’ The string of pearls broke and bounced down the stairs one by one. ‘It was awful!’ said Sister Marian. But she continued down the stairs pretending there weren’t pearls bouncing all around her while the girls gathered the pearls from the steps. Sister Marian’s laughter as she shared this story was infectious!”

After high school, Mariana toyed with the idea of going to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College because of photos she had seen in a viewbook, but her father told her that was “thin reasoning.” He insisted she attend one of “the perfectly good colleges and universities in the D.C. area.” She sensed that “he was afraid they would keep me longer than expected” at the Woods. Perhaps he already saw the pull his daughter was experiencing.

Indeed, Mariana stayed in D.C., earning her bachelor’s degree in English from Trinity College. She had wonderful friends at Trinity but she went home on weekends. Her reason: “All my friends did was get up for Mass at 7 a.m., on Sundays, eat breakfast, and study most of the day … at home we did fun things.” Close family ties to the D.C. area remained very important to Marian throughout her life and it was with great reluctance that she left D.C. in 2022 to return to the Woods.

Sister Marian stated, “after high school and college, the rest of my life began. I went to the Sisters of Providence novitiate. I felt I was being called. I didn’t have a faintest idea what community was all about. No information. Nothing like now. I thought, ‘I’ll just take what comes.’” Later in life, I suspect she expressed that same sentiment n the words of Mother Theodore: “Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence.”

“What came” was her entrance as a postulant at Maryhurst Convent in Rockville, Maryland, in 1949, which closed after two years. She and another postulant were sent to complete their novitiate at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. It was a sad time for her family who hated to see her go, especially since her brother John entered the seminary the same year.

Marian lamented the fact that there were no mountains or hills in Indiana, at least it seemed that way when she peered out the train window on route here. But then she discovered that Indiana had strawberries and raspberries and blueberries! She says of these novitiate years, “We lived a lot of our life in the cannery. They read a book to keep us quiet during the time we worked, probably children’s books to prepare us for teaching.”

Sister Marian professed first vows in 1951 and made her perpetual profession in 1956, both on August 15.

Marian began her teaching career as a high school teacher and taught in Indiana at Ladywood in Indianapolis, Our Lady of Providence in Clarksville and at Schulte in Terre Haute over a span of six years.

“What came Marian’s way” in 1957 was a return to her beloved Washington, D.C., and enrolling as a student at Catholic University of America, where she earned both her master’s and doctorate in philosophy, completing the latter degree in 1962. Marian’s niece Sharon said of these years: “What I had always wished to tell Aunt Marian in person, but never got around to doing, was how much she inspired me as a young child in the glow of her clear joy and dedication to her callings as a Sister of Providence and educator. As an adult, that admiration deepened, as I grew to understand the depths of her intellectual and ethical inquiry. It is only recently that I have belatedly come to realize what a groundbreaking life she led, deciding to pursue a Doctorate in Philosophy in the early 1950s, in a male-dominated discipline and when the expectations for women were overwhelmingly domestic and practical. She never once talked to me about what that choice felt like, to do a Ph.D. in Philosophy at that time! She seemed to embody it as truly ‘nothing much.’ I thus had never thought about what a radical choice it was, and the courage it must have taken.”

After earning her doctorate, Marian ministered for the next five years at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as an associate professor of philosophy and additionally as dean of students.

She returned to Washington, D.C., in 1967, as President of Immaculata College until its closure in 1979. She spent another two years attending to the details of closing the college. For the next 35 years, from 1981 to 2016, she held various department of philosophy positions at her alma mater, Catholic University of America, as lecturer, associate professor, adjunct assistant professor. From 2015 until her return to the Woods in 2022, she coordinated the alumnae organization of the Immaculata College of Washington, D.C. As long as her health allowed until very recently, she attended all the funerals of students she had taught in the D.C. area.

Her sister Therese, 10 years younger than Marian, recalled that Marian “loved the international students at the College and kept every memento from their country that they gave her. However, she was a hoarder, and I had the job of moving her twice and dealing with that problem. She cured me of understanding the problem with keeping everything. She kept all her student’s papers from the 35 years she taught at Catholic University in case she had to review them to write a recommendation letter in later years for any one of her students.” I told Therese that I experienced the hoarding also, finding letters in Marian’s file dating back to the 1970s from China, South India, Japan, Austria, France and Australia.

Before returning to the Woods, Marian spent about four years as a resident at St. Bartholomew House in Bethesda, Maryland. Even there, she conducted a weekly Scripture group and would often take Communion to other residents. She seemed always ready to give, to share, to inspire, instilling values whenever and wherever she could.

Band members Sisters Regina Marie McIntyre and Joann Quinkert got to know Sister Marian more since her return to the Woods, distance being a deterrent until then.

“When I visited her,” Regina Marie said, “she always welcomed me with a beautiful smile and a warm greeting. Our conversations were always special and many times she spoke of family members and experiences she had with them.”

Joann recalled that “Marian was very gracious and considerate of all. She definitely loved being an educator. That was evident even when she taught us philosophy as novices.”

Sister Josephine Bryan commented, “As professor of moral philosophy, Marian taught ethics to the nursing students at Catholic University. Not only did she instruct moral guidelines of what the nurses ought to do, be and seek but was a perfect example of her lectures.”

Sister Marian always spoke her truth at General Chapters and annual assemblies of the Sisters of Providence, even if her voice differed from the majority. She was also entrusted with making final edits to the document we now possess as our Constitutions.

Sister Mary Beth Klingel marveled at “Marian’s determination to keep living! She always seemed hopeful that situations – personal or world – would turn out for the better.”

Marian’s niece Sharon called it “stalwart determination” giving as an example that Marian stayed up until 2 a.m., the night before Sharon’s wedding because she had committed to making fresh flower arrangements for the event.

We can now rejoice that the last line of Thomas Aquinas’ prayer has come true for Marian: “Bestow on me confidence that I shall embrace Thee at the last.” Happy eternity in God’s loving embrace, Marian!

Funeral Information

Funeral services for Sister Marian took place on Thursday, November 7, and Friday, November 8, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

A Wake took place from 2:30-4:30 p.m., EDT, on Thursday, November 7. Mass of Christian Burial took place at 11 a.m., EDT, on Friday, November 8.

Memorial contributions may be made in honor of Sister Marian to the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

We welcome you to share your memories of Sister Marian in the comment section below.

Sister Marian Brady

Complete Ministry

In Indiana: Teacher, Ladywood, Indianapolis (1951-1955); Teacher, Our Lady of Providence, Clarksville (1955-56); Teacher, Terre Haute Schulte High School, Terre Haute (1956-57); Assistant Professor/Associate Professor of Philosophy, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (1962-66); Dean of Students/Associate Professor of Philosophy, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (1966-67); Prayer, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (2023-24).

In Washington, D.C.: President/Professor of Philosophy, Immaculata College (1967-78); College Closure, Immaculata College (1978-81); Part-time Assistant for Association of Catholic College, National Catholic Education Association (1979-80); Lecturer in Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (1981-82); Visiting Associate Professor/Lecturer in Philosophy, The Catholic University of America and Trinity College (1982-83); Visiting Associate Professor, The Catholic University of America (1983-84); Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (1984-87); Adjunct Assistant Professor/Lecturer in Philosophy, Catholic University, Pontificate, Faculty of Immaculate Conception (1987-90); Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (1990-92); Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (1992-2013); Director, Core Program in Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (1992-2013); Adjunct Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America (2015-16); Coordinator, Immaculata College of Washington Alumnae (2015-2023).