Teenager Elizabeth “Betty” Bermingham and a good friend volunteered at a children’s daycare center run by the Holy Family Sisters during their junior year at Notre Dame High School in San Francisco. "I'm not sure how much we helped," she recalled. "I think we did it for the peanut butter sandwiches." Her friend later decided to join the Holy Family Sisters and Betty realized she felt drawn to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
In 1949, two months after high school graduation, Betty moved into the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur novitiate in Saratoga, California, taking the name Sister Aileen Marie Bermingham, SNDdeN. As the oldest of six children from a large and loving family, she remembered being homesick and appreciating the gentle understanding of the Novice Director.
As a young, brand-new teacher in 1952, Sister Aileen fell in love with her fifth-grade class at Moreland Notre Dame School in Watsonville, California, mindful of her own little Sister also in the fifth grade at Notre Dame San Francisco. She fondly remembered many of the names of those children in her first class.
In those days, many Sisters moved often between schools. Sister Aileen went on to teach in Los Angeles, at Notre Dame School in Chico, California, and at Notre Dame High Schools in San Francisco and San Jose, California.
Sister Aileen attended Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), then called the College of Notre Dame, and the University of San Francisco, where she earned a master's degree in English.
In 1974, a surprise phone call from Rome led her to embark on an unexpected and deeply rewarding journey. Sister Aileen had been chosen as the Provincial Superior for the California Province. In this role, she shared, "I was able to visit all the schools and communities and marvel at the dedication and goodness of the Sisters at work."
At the end of her six-year term, Sister Aileen began a very fulfilling ministry working at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County’s John XXIII Center in downtown San Jose. The center provided meals, counseling, and outreach to senior citizens in the local community who needed a helping hand.
Looking back at the time of her 75th Jubilee, she was struck with gratitude by the “absolutely wonderful, dedicated, sisterly women with whom I have lived for the past 75 years. All of them were part of a learning experience I treasure.” She continued to draw inspiration and support from her Sisters in religion.
Her favorite quote came from the book of John: “God is love.” This idea formed the bedrock of Sister Aileen’s lifetime of service in making known God’s goodness.
Sister Aileen Bermingham went home to her good God on November 12, 2024. Her funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at the SNDdeN Province Center in Belmont, California, at 11:00 a.m., with the burial on Tuesday, December 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Cross in Colma, California.
