Dominican Sister of Peace Christine (Margaret Mary) Loughlin, OP, (82) died on June 24, 2022, at the Norton Hospital in Louisville, KY.
Born on October 3, 1939, in Waltham, MA, Sr. Chris was the daughter of Joseph Francis and Catherine McDonough Loughlin. She entered the Congregation in 1957, made first profession in 1959 and took her final vows in 1964.
Sr. Chris earned her BA in Education and English from Siena College, her MA in English Literature from St. John University, and her MTS in Theology from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge. She began her long ministry in education, serving as a teacher and administrator in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.
Perhaps foreshadowing the future of her congregation, Chris left education to work for peace at Mobilization for Survival, an anti-nuclear organization. She moved on to serve at the Campion Renewal Center, a Jesuit retreat house, and served for nine years as the co-director of the Woman Center in Plainville, MA.
In 1992, she returned to the site of her novitiate work, Crystal Springs in Plainville, MA, where she joined the staff of the Crystal Spring Ecology Center. Sr. Chris recognized the special qualities of not just the farm, but of the surrounding community, calling it a “culture-shed.” In her words, at Crystal Springs “we participate in a geographic region irrigated by streams of local talent and deep pools of human and natural history.”
In her role at Crystal Springs, Sr. Chris acted as a catalyst, re-visioning the ministry and collaborating with those around her to imagine and realize new goals. Of utmost importance to her was the preservation of Crystal Spring for the education and spiritual development of future generations. She took giving up a piece of the property for this purpose as a gift to ensure its continued life as a treasured part of God’s creation.
In her comments at Sr. Chris’ death, Prioress Pat Twohill said that “In many ways, Chris helped to form her Congregations’ conscience in ecological matters. And she did this not only for us but for any number of other like-minded groups.” She used her considerable foresight and her ability to build coalitions to help others care for Earth.
One of Sr. Chris’s final ministries was as Executive Director of the Religious Lands Conservancy. It seems only fitting, as she was working with her Sisters at Peace to preserve another piece of land that has been part of the Congregation’s heritage at the time of her death.
Sr. Chris is survived by her sister, Rita Scudder, and several nieces and nephews, as well as the lands that she loved so deeply.
A wake and visitation were held on June 29, 2022, and the Mass of Christian burial was held on June 30, 2022, both in Magdalen Chapel at St. Catharine Motherhouse. Sr. Chris was interred at the St. Catharine Cemetery.
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Memorial gifts in Sr. Chris Loughlin’s memory may also be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr, Columbus, OH 43219.