Mary Margaret “Immaculata Marie” Pignone
Sister Mary Margaret Pignone, SNDdeN grew up in an Irish family known for being loving and mutually supportive. With two brothers, Lawrence and Thomas, she was the youngest of three children of Lawrence J. Pignone and Margaret McGlynn Pignone and the only girl. Today she enjoys relationships with her many nieces and nephews.
Sister Mary Margaret was born in Washington, D.C., on September 20, 1943, and attended Holy Comforter School and Notre Dame Academy K. Street, both in the District of Columbia. Her paternal aunt, Sister Frances Pignone, was an SNDdeN, and so she was acquainted with the Sisters from an early age. In 1961, after graduation, she entered the community at Ilchester, Maryland. Mary Margaret completed a Bachelor of Arts in history at Trinity College, a Master’s degree in rural sociology at Pennsylvania State University and a PhD. in international studies from American University in D.C.
After several years of teaching at high schools in Pennsylvania, Sister Mary Margaret worked as a graduate assistant at Penn State while pursuing her Master’s degree. She then spent six years in Appalachia, first as a teacher, then as director of community development for the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston, W.Va., and as staff to the Tug Valley Recovery Center in Mingo County, W.Va., following a disastrous flood in that county. In this capacity, she was instrumental in having the Army Corps of Engineers build a flood wall to protect the community (although for the Army Corps, it “was not cost-effective”).
Her life then took a turn toward SNDdeN community service, and for the next four years, she served as administrative assistant, property manager, and on the administrative team for the “Sharings” group in the Maryland Province during its reorganization.
In 1984, Sister Mary Margaret began her studies in International Relations while working at the National Catholic Education Association, as graduate assistant and later as assistant professor at American University, Trinity College and Northern Virginia College, and as program staff at the Africa Faith & Justice Network.
When it was time to start her dissertation, Sister Mary Margaret wrote: “You can’t think globally if you don’t act globally.” To that end, she set up a network within the Congregation in four English-speaking countries designed to compare and analyze their respective socio-economic conditions. Sisters in Glascow, Scotland; London, England; Baltimore, Maryland; and Zimbabwe/South Africa Unit participated.
Community service beckoned again and she served on a Chesapeake Province Administrative Team for four years.
Sister Mary Margaret next turned her attention ministries “as wide as the world.” In Kroonstad, South Africa, she became the coordinator of Jalo Peo Trust, providing skills training to enhance small business development. Later, she developed the Northern Free State Institute at the large SNDdeN property which became an elementary and middle school.
After more than five years, Sister Mary Margaret was back in the United States. Her next calling was with Notre Dame Mission Volunteers and the Julie Community Center where she was an AmeriCorps site director for the Family Support Program. There, she served low-income residents in East Baltimore and provided skills training in literacy, GED test preparation, job readiness, conflict management and parenting as well as housing assistance. In 2010, she became “Sister Thursday” on the Chesapeake Province Team until 2014 when five U.S. provinces merged to create the U.S. East-West Province.
Today Sister Mary Margaret lives at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, Ohio, and serves in the ministry of prayer.
Updated in 2025