By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor

Hailed as one who “lived and breathed” her vocation as a Sister of Mercy and her years in ministry as a Catholic educator, Mercy Sister Mary Peter Damian Mitchell is being warmly and lovingly remembered by colleagues, friends, families and faithful  from the Burlington community and well beyond.

Sister Mary Peter Damian, who retired in 2010 after having ministered in Burlington’s St. Paul School for more than 30 years, died unexpectedly April 22 in Overlook Hospital, Summit. She was 74. Her funeral Mass was celebrated April 28 in Immaculate Conception Chapel in Mount St. Mary, Watchung, with longtime friend, Msgr. James Dubell, as principal celebrant.

Msgr. Dubell is a former pastor of St. Paul Parish and currently serves as pastor of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford.

 “Sister Mary Peter Damian had an amazing gift of building community,” said JoAnn Tier, diocesan moderator of Catholic education and superintendent of schools.

“She invited parents, parishioners and alumni to be part of the fabric of St. Paul School.  She intertwined prayer and the Gospel message in all things – musicals, celebrations, meetings. She was an artist and was a master of detail. She had a deep love for St. Paul School and dedicated her life to create opportunities for students to grow and be ‘Children of Promise,’” Tier said.

Sister Mary Peter Damian’s unrelenting desire to help people to succeed and reach their full potential was fondly recalled by one reporter from The Monitor. During an interview, the reporter asked to double check the spelling of Damian. Ever the educator, Sister Mary Peter Damian promptly responded, “it’s spelled with all A’s… that’s what I strive for…to have all of my students achieve all A’s…”

Sister Mary Peter Damian was born in Camden and educated in the Camden Diocese. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1959. She held a bachelor’s degree in English from Georgian Court College (now Georgian Court University), Lakewood, and a master of arts degree in administration and supervision from Seton Hall University, South Orange.

Sister Mary Peter Damian taught in several elementary schools in the Camden and Trenton Diocese. In the Trenton Diocese, she served in St. Charles Borromeo School, Cinnaminson, St. Catherine School, Middletown, and St. Mary School, Bordentown.

In 1976, she moved to St. Paul School, Burlington, and for some 35 years served on the faculty, first as a teacher and then as principal for more than 20 years.  Following her retirement, she accepted an opportunity to serve as coordinator of the retirement unit for the Sisters of Mercy in Watchung.

“Sister Peter Damian was a driving force here at St. Paul School for many years,” said William J. Robbins, the current principal of St. Paul School. “She made the school what it is today, a passionately Catholic academic institution where the students, the teachers and the families dedicate themselves to their belief in God and their concern for the education of the ‘whole’ child.”

A memorial Mass for Sister Mary Peter Damian will be celebrated in St. Paul School on June 6 at 6 p.m. with Msgr. Dubell presiding. A reception and fellowship will follow the Mass.

Sister Mary Peter Damian was buried in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community, 1645 Highway 22, Watchung, N.J., 07069.