Marie-Rose “Rose Pauline” Charpentier (1939-2026)

“Pray that the Holy Spirit may guide and direct me in all my actions, that all may be done for the greater glory of God.”
– St. Julie

Sister Marie-Rose Charpentier, SNDdeN went home to her good God on March 15, 2026 at the age of 86, having served God for 67 years as an SNDdeN. View Mass of Resurrection  March 30, 2026 recording here. 

The oldest of three children, Sister Marie-Rose learned to be responsible at an early age, due to her mother’s serious health issues. The children faced being taken to an orphanage until an aunt and uncle stepped in, and they went to live with them.

She met the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in high school at St. Theresa’s in Providence. “It was Sister Thomas Julie’s kindness and joyfulness that attracted me to Notre Dame,” she said.

She received a bachelor’s degree in education and music from Emmanuel College in Boston, and a master’s degree in reading from West Virginia University. She was licensed as a nursing assistant.

She entered the SNDdeN in 1959, took her First Vows in 1961, and her Final Vows in 1966.

Sister Marie-Rose taught elementary school and served as a pastoral assistant and outreach worker.

She remembered being worried when her first mission was teaching first graders at Sacred Heart School in Springfield, Massachusetts. “I was told to teach phonics and I knew nothing about phonics! So I observed a wonderful, elderly Sister, who was a great teacher, and returned to my classroom and imitated her,” she said.

Other ministries took her to West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. “In Appalachia, I had the privilege of working with the very poor. I saw the reflection of God in individuals who were unchurched but so very close to God,” she recalled.

In Rhode Island, she cared for family members during their illnesses. She served as a nursing assistant, volunteered at outreach activities for the poor, and assisted senior residents in the public housing where she lived.

At her 2020 Jubilee, Sister Marie-Rose stated, “I am most grateful to God for my vocation and for the love and support of my Sisters. I so appreciate the varied ministries I’ve had and the opportunity to meet and work with people of different cultures.”

Updated in 2026