In Memoriam: Mary Aquin O’Neill, 1941-2016

Sister Mary Aquin O’Neill, a theologian who taught at many colleges and universities and was the co-founder of Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women in Baltimore, Maryland, died on December 14. She was 75 years old and suffered from lymphoma.

Raised in Augusta, Georgia, Sister O’Neill came to Baltimore at the age of 17 to enroll at Mount Saint Agnes College. She went on to earn a master’s degree at the University of San Francisco and a doctoral degree in theology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

After earning her doctorate, Sister O’Neill joined the faculty at what is now Loyola University of Maryland as an assistant professor of theology. Later, she taught at what is now Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

In 1992, Dr. O’Neill returned to Baltimore to co-found the Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women. The center operated for 22 years before funding difficulties forced it to close in 2014.