Sr. Mary Barbara Philippart, S.C.

Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Mary Barbara Philippart died on March 19, 2026, at the age of 96 in Mother Margaret Hall, the nursing facility for the Sisters of Charity. Sister Mary Barbara was born on June 19, 1929, to Howard and Helen (Carr) Philippart in Detroit, Michigan. She was the second of four children, with one brother and two sisters. She was a Sister of Charity for 78 years. 

Sister Mary Barbara grew up in Detroit, where she attended St. Luke Grade School and graduated from Little Flower High School for Girls in 1947. She entered the Sisters of Charity on Sept. 7, 1947, later reflecting, “The lives of the Sisters at Little Flower reinforced my desire to become a religious; the decision to enter the Sisters of Charity was made in March of my senior year. Sisters Barbara Geoghegan, Ancilla Marie Petricone and Virginia Hughes at Little Flower convent were most encouraging. Mom and Dad were very happy with my decision.” 

Sister Mary Barbara earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the Athenaeum of Ohio in 1953. She later received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of Mount St. Joseph in 1960 and a Master of Arts in Spanish from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, in 1971.

Sister Mary Barbara’s ministries spanned more than 55 years of faithful service, taking her to classrooms, missionary lands, and into pastoral, administrative and radio ministries in both Peru and the United States. At just 8 years old, she announced to her family that she would one day go to China as a missionary. In her autobiography, Sister Mary Barbara shared, “The return of our Sisters serving in China and the arrival of our Chinese Sisters from 1948-’49 affected me profoundly. They taught me the loveliness of a different culture and the patient suffering inherent in uprooting, adapting and adopting, which gave me an example for my future.”

She ministered in early education from 1951 to 1962 in Ohio and Michigan, serving at St. William, St. Catherine, Cure of Ars, Holy Family, and Shrine of the Little Flower, as well as Lima Central Catholic High School in Lima, Ohio. It was there in 1962 that Sister Mary Barbara received word that she was missioned to Colegio Juan XXIII, a trilingual school for the Chinese in Lima, Peru. A co-founder of the school, she served there as principal and teacher until the fall of 1967.

The Sisters of Charity had responded to Pope John XXIII’s 1961 call for American religious to strengthen the faith in Latin America by accepting two missions, and Sister Mary Barbara was among those who volunteered. She helped to develop the school’s curriculum in Spanish, English and Chinese, and also provided public relations support for the new school, which continues to flourish today, more than 60 years later. 

She was then missioned to Huancané, Puno, Peru, where she fell in love with the people and culture. There, she served as a pastoral minister, working with lay groups in evangelization and development. She also coordinated community projects such as irrigation systems, seed sharing, radio programming and the establishment of Habitat for Humanity initiatives. Fundraising – through partnering with families, friends, organizations and parishes in the United States and Canada – was an essential component of these efforts.

 After returning to the United States in 1968, Sister Mary Barbara taught Spanish at Seton High School. From 1971 to 1973, she ministered to migratory farm workers and resettled Hispanic families in Fremont, Ohio. From 1973 to 1976, she served as Social Services coordinator for the Sisters of Charity Community, while also acting as the Ohio connector for the Catholic Commission on Urban Ministry and as Ohio promoter and board member for the Sisters’ Network. 

A highlight for Sister Mary Barbara was the honor of attending the 1975 canonization of Elizabeth Ann Seton. She received this invitation in gratitude from Bishop Ferruccio, with whom she had worked at the Chinese school in Lima. While in Rome, she reunited with Sister Mary Martin Morand and was introduced to the Bishop of Puno, Bishop Jesús Mateo Calderón. 

He later visited the Motherhouse and invited Sister Mary Barbara and other Sisters of Charity to minister in Manazo, years she would come to describe as the most satisfying and productive of her life. The town lacked basic infrastructure, including sewage, electricity, potable water, and access to health care. Together with teams of Sisters of Charity, she worked alongside the Women’s Club, Christian community leaders, health promoters, and faith leaders, and supported children’s catechetical programs. 

They also founded Artesanía Pachamama, a women’s cooperative, with the goal of empowering laypeople to lead and sustain their own faith communities. Sister Mary Barbara served on the leadership team for religious education in both Manazo and Vilque.

From 1993 to 1996, she served as director of the diocesan Radio Onda Azul (Radio Blue Wave) in Puno, perhaps her most unexpected ministry. There, she served the people of the altiplano through education and communication, especially in remote areas without television or electricity, where battery-operated radios were often the only means of connection. She oversaw programming in three languages, led a staff of 30, and successfully secured renewed funding from international partners in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Canada. The station continues its mission today.

In 1997, Sister Mary Barbara took a sabbatical-discernment year at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, a well-deserved pause in her ministry. In her partial retirement years, she served in Hispanic radio ministry in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1998 to 2003, where she founded the Spanish Language Radio Production Center, focusing on program writing and establishing contracts with radio stations.

From 2003 to 2008, she served as pastoral associate at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Port Huron, Michigan, providing assistance to those in need, directing religious education and coordinating fundraising. From 2011-2012, she served one week each month as a member of the team for the formation of Hispanic permanent deacons for the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas.

 In retirement in Cincinnati, Sister Mary Barbara continued to support the people she had served, frequently using her Spanish language skills. She volunteered at the Good Samaritan Free Health Center, and accompanied Sister Montiel Rosenthal to Belterra Park Racetrack to attend to the poor who work there. She also served as an interpreter at the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy and Health Resource Center. 

When asked what she had learned from her years ministering in Peru, Sister Mary Barbara reflected, “Nothing is done without God and the cooperation and work of the people.” The Bishop of Puno shared, “Sister Barbara lived in the Andean culture and identified with the most poor of these humble and simple people. Her work inspired faith, joy and hope.”

Sister Mary Barbara is survived by nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Janet Drolshagen and Carol Ann Srebernak, and brother, Howard Philippart. Sisters, family and friends will greet visitors in the back of the Motherhouse Chapel from 9-10 a.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2026, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel. Burial will follow in the Sisters of Charity cemetery. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed on the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati website at www.srcharitycinti.org. 

Memorials can be made in Sister Mary Barbara Philippart’s name to the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Rd., Mount St. Joseph, Ohio 45051.