Dominican Sister of Peace Sister Annunciata Chen, 100, died on May 12, 2020, at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, OH.
One of three siblings, Sr. Annunciata was born in 1919 in Fukien, China to Catherine Ho and Peter Chen. When the Dominican Sisters from our Congregation arrived in Fukien, Sr. Annunciata was the first to apply for entrance as a professed religious in the Congregation. She entered in 1944 and made first profession in 1947, later serving as a native missionary in Kienow until the Communists came into power in 1949.
Sr. Annunciata earned a Bachelor of Education at St, Mary of the Springs, now Ohio Dominican University. Her early years of teaching in the United States were the then “missionary territories” of Abiquiu, NM, and Amarillo. She volunteered to travel to Chimbote, Peru in 1968, where she served for twenty years. She enjoyed ministering through home visits, religious formation, and preparing children to receive the sacraments.
Sr. Annunciata’s nephew was a priest, and she was blessed to fulfill her dream by working with the Chinese community in Taiwan at her nephew’s parish of St. Joseph and at Our Lady of China Parish. She maintained a connection with the Chinese community as a member of a Columbus, OH, prayer group that met for reflection and sharing.
Sr. Annunciata served as a sacristan at both the Motherhouse and Mohun Health Care Center. When she was unable to complete that ministry, she would visit the other Sisters in the Mohun Health Care Center and spend time praying in Chapel praying for her family, friends, and Sisters.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Catherine Ho Chen, her sister, Catherine, and her brother, Peter. She is survived by her nephew, Fr. Luke Chen, nieces, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
A private mass and funeral service was held on May 20, 2020, at the Columbus Motherhouse Chapel. Sr. Annunciata was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery, Columbus, OH.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Annunciata’s memory may be submitted securely online or sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr, Columbus, 43219.
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To view a printable PDF copy of Sr. Annunciata’s memorial, please click here.