January 24, 2024

Sister Mary Henrita Robillard, a Holy Spirit Adoration Sister, died December 27, 2023.

Born in Ogdensburg as Rita Ann Robillard, she was the daughter of Henry and Mary (Revell) Robillard.

She was the sister of Msgr. Thomas Robillard, a deceased priest of the Diocese of Ogdensburg.

According to North Country Catholic archives, Sister Mary Henrita attended St. Mary’s Grade School and High School before entering the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, known as the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters or Pink Nuns in 1947.

She professed in 1950, making her final vows five years later. Her religious name was a combination of her given baptismal name, Rita, and her parents’ names.

Sister Mary Henrita spent seven years as a contemplative missionary in Argentina. She has served with the sisters in Austin, Texas, St. Louis, Missouri, Lincoln, Nebraska, and most recently in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
She described her vocation as “a life where I can serve in a way which encompasses the Trinity.”

“For me, the Trinity means the guiding, creating hand of a loving Father, designing my vowed life of union with his Son and the redeeming cross, with the gift-flames of grace from the Spirit to sanctify me in his service,” she was quoted as saying in the NCC.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 3 at the Chapel of Divine Love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
No further information was available.

Memorial donations may be made to the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters at 2212 Green Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130.