Sister Catherine Tronolone, OSF 1930-2021

Sister Catherine Tronolone, who spent nearly 50 years as a teacher, died Jan. 9, 2021, at the Stella Niagara Health Center.

Born Feb. 17, 1930, to Carmen and Lucia Sisti Tronolone in Columbus, Ohio, Sister Catherine entered the order of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity on Sept. 6, 1942, at Stella Niagara, shortly after graduating from Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart. She professed her first vows on Aug. 19, 1944, and her perpetual vows on Aug. 18, 1947.

She earned a bachelor of science degree in education from Mount St. Joseph Teachers College (now Medaille), in Buffalo, and a master’s degree from the Catholic University, Washington, D.C., in 1966.

Her teaching ministry took her to St. Michael School, Buffalo; Stella Niagara Normal Elementary School, Buffalo; Seminary of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart/Stella Niagara Seminary, Stella Niagara; St. Benedict School, Eggertsville; Cardinal O’Hara High School, Tonawanda (as a substitute teacher) where she retired in 2006.

Sister Catherine also taught in the dioceses of Columbus, Ohio; Wheeling/Charleston, West Virginia; and Trenton, New Jersey, where she also had a ministry to the sick.

Sister Catherine also served for a number of years in Rome, where she taught at Casa Maddalena Language School and St. Francis International School, where she also served as principal.  After her retirement, she visited the sick and homebound. She also spent time in Poland teaching English to the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity in Our Lady Help of Christians Province, Orlik.

Due to Covid restrictions, a memorial Mass will be celebrated at a later date. Burial will take place in Sisters Cemetery, Stella Niagara.