Birth: April 14, 1937
Profession: July 20, 1966
Death: March 18, 2010

Catherine “Kit” Collins, RSCJ, social justice advocate, international education consultant, and digital pioneer, died March 18, 2010, in Washington, D.C.

Sister Collins was born April 14, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents, both deceased, were James Francis Collins and Esther McCafferty Collins; she is survived by her brothers George Collins, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Joseph Collins, of Melbourne, Florida, and by her sister, Paula Collins Mazzio, of Needham, Massachusetts.

Since 1984, Sister Collins has served as director of the Center for Educational Design and Communication (CEDC) in Washington, providing educational and communications support to groups seeking social justice. CEDC clients have included the National Catholic Education Association, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Catholic Charities, and the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Sister Collins served as national coordinator for Sacred Heart schools from 1972 to 1984 and was responsible for drafting the language that ultimately became the Goals and Criteria ™ adopted by all members of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.

She chaired the Society of the Sacred Heart International Education Commission from 1985 to 1988 and was an educational consultant for the Society in New Zealand, Korea, Japan, Malta, the Philippines, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt. She was fluent in French.

Sister Collins earlier served as headmistress at Stone Ridge Academy of the Sacred Heart in Washington and as curriculum director at Eden Hall Academy of the Sacred Heart in Philadelphia. She was also a trustee of Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in Michigan.

She earned a B.A. Psychology, an M.A. in Education, and a masters degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York.

Sister Collin’s religious life in the Society of the Sacred Heart began at the Kenwood novitiate in Albany, New York, on September 7, 1958. She made her first vows March 20, 1960, and was professed on July 20, 1966.

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, a viewing will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at the CEDC, 821 Varnum Street, NE, Washington, followed by a Liturgy of the Resurrection in the CEDC Chapel at 11 a.m. Interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery will follow the liturgy.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Please feel free to add comments below or at the CEDC site.

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Comments

Angie Slingluff's picture

Mon, 2010-05-17 15:26
<p>It is with sadness that I read of the passing of Sr Collins in the Heart magazine. I attended Eden Hall from 1961-64 and she was a beloved history teacher and dorm mistress. We thought her stern but fair some days and a delight on others - as do all high school students.<br />&nbsp;<br />She taught me to speak publicly by having us all sit in a cirlce and give speeches. Whenever anyone would say "um" she had the rest of us would slap the desk with our hands. She made history come alive. She showed her sensitivity one night when one of my roomates was having&nbsp; a nightmare. We marvelled at how she handled it bringing Di gently back into the room and away from her fears. And she was patient with an awkward teenager who wasn't very good with social skills.<br />&nbsp;<br />It's been a long journey since Eden Hall, but I know I am a richer person for having had her as a teacher.<br />&nbsp;<br />Coeur loquitor coeur,<br />&nbsp;<br />Angie Slingluff<br />Eden Hall class of 1964<br />&nbsp;<br />Anchorage, Alaska<br /><br /></p>
Liz's picture

Thu, 2011-03-24 21:18
<p>Aunt Kit,</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thank you for all you did for us, you are not forgotten. xxoo Love Liz</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>
Lyn 's picture

Tue, 2012-06-12 09:21
<p>I am very sad to read, so belatedly, of the death of Mother Collins - as I will always think of her. &nbsp;I attended Eden Hall from 1963-65 and had Mother Collins for several junior year classes. &nbsp;She was all the things described in her eulogy and beyond, a mother to a girl struggling without one. &nbsp;Her warmth and humor gave me a foundation I had never had. &nbsp;Thank you, Mother Collins.</p>