Sister Mariella Hathorn, OSB papers

Sister Mariella Hathorn, OSB was born Carol Rose on March 1st, 1939 in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Saint Mary high school in Pennsylvania, she entered the community of Benedictines at Saint Joseph Monastery (also known as the Benedictine Sisters of Elk County). She made her final profession on August 18th, 1962.

Sister Mariella served as an elementary teacher for over 28 years in various schools in Pennsylvania, including Saint Mary, Sacred Heart, and Saint Joseph Schools. In 1969, she became the principal and teacher at Saint Joseph School, where she taught and supervised for 18 years.

In 1987, Sister was elected Prioress of the Saint Joseph Monastery community. She led the community for 8 years, after being re-elected in 1991. Sister took a sabbatical year from 1995-1996, in which she served in the Development Office of the Saint Scholastica Monastery, Chicago. After this, she extended her stay in Chicago, working as a part-time staff person at Saint Nicholas Parish in Evanston, and as a pastoral minister at Saint Joseph Court Infirmary. Following the completion of the three-year testing period, Sister formally transferred to the Saint Scholastica Monastery Chicago community on October 24th, 1998.

As a Benedictine Sister in Chicago, Sister Mariella served as the infirmarian of the Saint Joseph Court Infirmary, supervising the nursing staff for 10 years and coordinating group activites for the Sisters. In 2007, she became sub-prioress. She served in this role for three years before returning to her work as infirmarian until 2020. She was known and loved for her annual portrayal of Mrs. Claus at Christmas-time.

Sister died on February 7th, 2021 and is buried at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.