Sister Maria (Dolores Assunta) Gnerro

Sister Maria (Dolores Assunta) Gnerro, age 92, died at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland on February 19, 2024. She was born on August 16, 1931 in Washington, D.C. at the old Providence Hospital to Sandrina (Landi) and Antonio Gnerro, both Italian emigrants. Before entering the Community, Sister Maria was a member of the Immaculate Conception Parish, graduating from the Immaculate Conception Academy in Washington, D. C. in 1949.  After working for the government for a year, she entered the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg on December 18, 1950. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and French in 1966 from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg and her Master of Arts Degree in American History in 1974 from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Following initial formation, Sister Maria began a long teaching ministry, beginning at St. Dominic School in Baltimore, Maryland. She continued as an Elementary Education teacher in Norfolk, Virginia at Sacred Heart School and in Pikesville, Maryland at St. Charles School. In 1965, Sister was missioned to Utica, New York at Utica Catholic Academy and began her teaching ministry as a History and Social Studies teacher at the high school level. From there, Sister Maria taught at Portsmouth Catholic High School in Portsmouth, Virginia (1969-1972), Bishop England High School in Charleston, South Carolina (1974-1979), and Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland (1972-1974, 1979-1992), working in the Alumnae and Development Office in the last few years. In 1992, Sister was missioned to Emmitsburg where she worked in the Seton Shrine Gift Shop and the Seton Day Care Center. In 1998, she was missioned to St. Joseph Parish in Petersburg, Virginia to work in parish ministry until 2003 when she went to St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore to be a Patient Advocate. In 2010, Sister Maria came to Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg for the Ministry of Prayer, a ministry she held until her death.

Sister Maria was preceded in death by her sister, Vera Radomski and brother, Marco Gnerro. She is survived by her nephews, Paul Magnini and Robert Magnini; niece, Ann Frati; and her Sisters in Community.

An evening prayer service and sharing of memories was held on February 27 in the Villa Chapel in Emmitsburg. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, March 27 at 11:00 am in the Villa Chapel. Burial will follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery on the grounds.