Sister of Loretto Nancy Finneran, formerly Sister M. Gerard, died April 25 at Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary in Nerinx, Ky. She was 85 and had been a Loretto sister for 67 years.
Sister Finneran, a native of Granite City, Ill., ministered in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri in education and social justice. In the Archdiocese of Louisville she taught at Loretto High School in Louisville from 1972 to 1973. She also ministered in social services in Louisville and throughout the state.
When NETWORK began in the early 1970s, Sister Finneran served as the Kentucky coordinator for the national organization of religious women that lobbies for social justice.
She served on the Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of Louisville, and created the Loretto Awareness Project for political and social advocacy in Louisville. She also served as the Loretto NGO Representative at the United Nations in New York from 1995 to 2007.
In 2013, Sister Finneran retired to the Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary, where she participated in community service until her death.
Sister Finneran is survived by her brother Thomas Finneran of Florissant, Mo., and members of her religious community.
A funeral service was celebrated April 29 in the Church of the Seven Dolors on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx. Burial was in the Loretto Motherhouse Cemetery.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Loretto Community, care of the Development Office, Loretto Motherhouse, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, Ky., 40049.
