Marie St. Barbara Connolly

“I praise God for his Goodness to me in the people I have met on my SND journey, as well as my family and friends.  Unconsciously, my heart is touched by the pain, sorrow, and joy that have been shared with me. God’s Goodness is so evident in these people.”  – Sister Marie St. Barbara, on her 80th Jubilee in 2026

Sister Marie St. Barbara Connolly, SNDdeN was born Kathleen “Kay” Joan Connolly and baptized at St. Joseph Church in Somerville. She was one of nine children. 

Theirs was a happy home, and when Sister Marie St. Barbara began to sense her call to religious life, her mother and father concluded that they were not good enough, not worthy as parents, to have a child in religion. God had other plans — Sister Marie St. Barbara, the seventh child in the family, and Julie, the ninth child, both became Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur! 

When she was first professed, Sister Marie St. Barbara remembers riding from Waltham to Cambridge each morning to teach at Blessed Sacrament School, where she later became principal. At St. Paul’s in Hingham, she also served as principal for 27 years, bringing her total years in school administration to 35.

Sister Marie St. Barbara has had many wonderful and meaningful experiences during her long life as a Sister, yet one memory is retold with fondness and reverence. When her sister, Sister Julie, was dying, “Kay” was by her side and saw so many SNDdeNs come in to pray and say farewell. 

“They stood around her bed, some kissed her, some whispered in her ear, they patted her hand,” she said. 

She remembers another Sister comforting her by saying, “She’s close to God right now and being with her means we are close to God.”