Sister Anne Doherty, S.P., (May 6, 1928 – February 3, 2013) was an American

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

, educator, professor and psychologist. She served as the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodo ...

, Indiana, from 1981–1986. During her term, the Constitutions of the Sisters of Providence gained papal

approbation Approbation may refer to: * Approbation (Catholic canon law), an act in the Catholic Church by which a bishop or other legitimate superior grants to an ecclesiastic the actual exercise of his ministry * The process of granting a medical license in ...

Early life

She was born Teresa Anne Doherty in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, to parents Patrick and Hannah Byrne Doherty and attended St. Philip Neri Parish. She entered the congregation on January 9, 1946, and was professed as a full Sister of Providence on August 15, 1953, with the religious name Sister Dennis. Doherty graduated with a bachelor's degree from

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Originally a college exclusively for women, it is now coeducational. It is the oldest Catholic college in Indiana a ...

in 1963 and later went to

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

to earn a master's degree in psychology (1966) and a doctorate in clinical psychology and counseling (1969).

Ministry

Doherty spent time ministering as an elementary educator in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and then went on to teach at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College,

Weston School of Theology The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM) is a Society of Jesus, Jesuit school of graduate theology at Boston College. It is an Ecclesiastical university, ecclesiastical faculty of theology that trains men and women, both lay and re ...

and

Martin University Martin University (originally Martin Center College) is a private college in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded by Fr Boniface Hardin, OSB and Jane Edward Schilling, CSJ in 1977 to serve low-income, minority, and adult learners. It is the only ...

. She also practiced psychology at several clinics in

Vigo County, Indiana Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994 . Its county seat is Terre Haute. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolitan ...

, including a stint as director of Clinical Services at Katherine Hamilton Center from 1972–1979. Her clinical interests included families with children as well as treatment of sexual abuse victims and offenders. She also directed attention toward the rural poor, leading to her testifying before a 1977 Congressional Hearing on Aging regarding the needs of elderly in rural areas. Doherty began her term as general superior in 1981. She coordinated the building of Karcher Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and began renovation of the

Church of the Immaculate Conception (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana) The Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is a large Italian Renaissance Revival-style church constructed of Indiana limestone at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. The ...

. She also oversaw the sale of the Immaculata College property in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

After her term, Doherty worked as a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

advocate in the

Diocese of Monterey ''This article describes the present Diocese of Monterey in California. The entity previously known as the Diocese of Monterey from 1849 until 1859, and subsequently known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles from 1859 until 1922, is the presen ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and the Diocese of Gary, Indiana. In 1984, Doherty was presented the President's Award from the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New ...

in Indianapolis for exemplifying Catholicism and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

heritage. During her last years, Doherty lived with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. She died at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on February 3, 2013, and is buried in the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Anne 1928 births 2013 deaths Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns