The XVth Ceneral Chapter of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm Elects Leadership
The Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm held their 15th General Chapter in Germantown, New York.
On September 14, 2026, Mother Mary Rose Heery, O. Carm., was elected as the Prioress General of the Congregation. On the following day, the Chapter elected the members of the General Council. They are Sister Theresa Marie Pfeffer, O. Carm. - 1st Councilor/Vicar General; Sister M. Peter Lillian Angeline DiMaria, O. Carm. - 2nd Councilor; Sister Patricia Margaret Rawdon, O. Carm. - 3rd Councilor; Sister M. Anthony de Lourdes Veilleux, O. Carm. - 4th Councilor; Sister M. Richard Carmel Brusca, O. Carm. - Secretary General; and Sister M. Veronica Robert Bien, O. Carm. - Treasurer General.
Sr. M. Richard Carmel Brusca is from Brooklyn, New York, and was re-elected to the office of Secretary General, which she has held since 2002. Sr. Patricia Margaret Rawdon is from Brooklyn, New York, and was elected to the office of Councilor General. She has been serving as Vice President and Chief Mission Director of the Carmelite System, and Director of Mission Integration at Carmel Richmond Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center on Staten Island.
Sr. M. Peter Lillian Angeline DiMaria is from Enfield, Connecticut. She was elected to the office of Councilor General in 2020 and was re-elected to a second term of six years. Sr. Theresa Marie Pfeffer is from Altoona, Pennsylvania. She has been serving on the General Council since 2023 and was elected to the Office of 1st Councilor and Vicar General. Sr. M. Anthony de Lourdes Veilleux is from Manchester, New Hampshire. She was elected to the office of Councilor General. She had been serving as the Prioress and Director of Mission Integration at St. Patrick’s Residence in Naperville, Illinois. Sr. M. Veronica Robert Bien is from Cincinnati, Ohio. She was re-elected to the office of Treasurer General, which she has held since 1996.
Mother Mary Rose Heery is from Queens, New York. She was elected to the Office of Prioress General of the Congregation in 2020, and was re-elected to a second term of six years.
The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm are a religious congregation of Pontifical Rite. They were founded by Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory (1894-1984) on September 3, 1929, with the approval and encouragement of Cardinal Patrick Hayes, archbishop of New York. Elias Magennis, the prior general of the Carmelites, granted affiliation with the Order on August 24, 1931. The congregation's specific mission is to attend to the needs of the elderly and to care for the sick, in the spirit fo the Carmelite tradition. They serve in various locations in the United States and have one home in Dublin, Ireland.
The website of the congregation is: https://www.carmelitesisters.
