SISTER CHRISTINA PRATT, 1928 – 2012
Sr. Christina Pratt, OSU
May 9, 1928 – May 11, 2012
Sister Christina Pratt, born Mary, died peacefully at Andrus on Hudson on May 11, 2012. She had celebrated her 84th birthday with friends the day before.
Christina entered the Ursulines on July 15, 1950 in Beacon, NY. She made her first vows on January 16, 1953 and her final vows 3 years later. From 1956 to 1969 she taught elementary school at St. Joseph’s in Middletown (1956-1957 and1961-1968), St. Philip Neri (1957 to 1961), Our Lady of Mercy and the Academy of Mount St. Ursula (1957-1961), and St. Angela(1968-1971) schools in the Bronx. She held a B.A. in English from the College of New Rochelle (1950) and an MA. in Elementary Education from Fordham (1958).
After tertianship in Rome in 1970-71, Christina began the service she cherished all her life in Botswana and South Africa. She went to teach at the Teacher Training College in Serowe, Botswana where she served from 1971 to 1985. From 1986 to 1996 she taught religious education and catechetics in Serowe and Mahalapye.
All her life she fondly recalled the place and the people she worked with. In 1997 she taught religion and catechetics in Subiaco Mission, Petersburg, South Africa. From 2001 to 2003 she lived in Krugersdorp and taught religion and adult education in Randfontein and Munsieville, South Africa.
In 2003 Christina returned to the United States and lived at St. Teresa’s community in New Rochelle. Her desire to continue serving where there was need, and so she taught at the Adult Learning Center, teaching language to new residents in New Rochelle and worked at Part of the Solution (POTS) in care for the homeless, in the Bronx. In 2008 she retired to Andrus on Hudson.
Christina was born to Mary and James Pratt on May 9, 1928, in Springfield, Mass. Her parents and two sisters, Barbara and Joan predeceased her. She has one surviving sister, Lois, of Springfield, Mass.