Mary Coffey
Born in Boston on July 6, 1936, Sister Mary Coffey, SNDdeN is the oldest of seven children born to Irish immigrants from County Kerry and County Galway. Her parents’ affection for gardening introduced her to gentle care of the earth. Music and lyrical stories of their native land shaped her identity. During the 12 years at Our Lady of the Presentation School in Brighton, stories about Julie Billiart’s life fascinated her. Today Sister Mary believes that Julie and her first-grade teacher underpinned the decision to enter Notre Dame on August 15, 1955.
St. Julie’s stories were passed on to her intermediate and junior high students during the 16 years that she taught in parish schools, from 1958 to 1974 at Blessed Sacrament in Cambridge, St. Charles in Woburn, Star of the Sea in Marblehead, and St. Augustine’s in South Boston.
Influenced by the Vatican II documents, the writings of Cardinal Suenens and the freedom to discern a new direction, Sister Mary became a hospital chaplain. After a residency year at the University of Virginia Medical Center, she studied at Boston University School of Theology. She worked in pastoral ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Milford, Maine. Her ministry expanded when she worked with inmates at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Maine, as chaplain, and department director, and as a pastoral counselor in Portland.
She moved into adult education as a Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor at Methodist Hospital in Houston and Saints Medical Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, and as spiritual care director at Life Care Center in Billerica.
Her ministry also included Healing Touch with oncology patients, and since 2006, she has continued serving others as a Reiki practitioner, Bio-Spiritual Focuser and reflective writer.
As Sister Mary celebrates her 70th anniversary, her heart is filled with gratitude for family, friends, colleagues, and mentors who have nourished her, as well as for God’s abiding goodness.
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Updated in 2026