IN MEMORY OF MOTHER MARY HELENA BARNES, SHCJ

May 2003 -  Last fall, the St. Elizabeth community mourned the passing of former principal Mother Mary Helena Barnes, SHCJ. Mother Mary Helena was principal from 1945-1952, and oversaw the building of the new school in 1947, following the 1947 fire that destroyed the first building.

Catherine O’Brien Fallon, class of 1951, writes “Reverend Mother Helena Barnes was a teacher’s teacher, truly a modern woman, and a great role model.”

During her tenure at the school, Mother planned the reconstruction to accommodate more students, and increased enrollment by 350 children.

Following her work at St. Elizabeth, Mother Mary Helena also served as assistant to the Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools, provincial of her congregation’s New York Province, and superior of the Holy Child Infirmary in Rye. She also worked as a teacher, principal, convent superior and tutor in several other states. She had entered the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in 1928 and professed her final vows in 1936.

Mother Mary Helena died at the Holy Child Infirmary in Rosemont, PA on September 4, 2002, and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken, PA. She was 95.