Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Mary Bridget (Rosemary Patricia) Murphy, 84, died Dec. 7, 2024.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Peter Canisius School and Notre Dame High School for Girls before entering the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1957.

She taught at St. Victor, Calumet City (1962-1966), before being assigned to schools in Ohio, where she completed a master’s degree in education.

In 1972, Sister Mary Bridget began serving as a clinical reading instructor at St. Peter Canisius and St. Robert Bellarmine schools in Chicago, supervising the teachers in the area of reading and teaching them skills to help them help their students. In 1975, she became principal of St. Robert Bellarmine, a post she held for six years.

She returned to Ohio to serve in provincial leadership and secondary education. In 1987, she became principal of Notre Dame High School in Chicago at a time of decreasing enrollment and higher costs, due to fewer sisters on the faculty. She spent the remainder of her professional life ministering to the school and its alumnae.

In 1993, she was appointed president of the school, and in 2003, she became president emeritus.