Sister Mary Jo ND 5730 PDF Download
Formerly Sister Mary Teresa
Mary Josephine TOLL
Immaculate Conception Province, USA
Date and Place of Birth: March 22, 1944 Bellevue, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession: August 18, 1964 Toledo, Ohio
Date and Place of Death: February 16, 2025 Sylvania, Ohio
Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with Your God. Micah 6:8
“We are sent to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.” These words from the Constitutions of the Sisters of Notre Dame describe the life of Sister Mary Jo Toll who died at Rosary Care Center after 61 years of religious life that created a kaleidoscope of rich, vibrant colors that became patterns for her adventurous spirit.
Born in Bellevue, Ohio, the second of four children, she attended Immaculate Conception School before becoming an aspirant at Notre Dame Academy, Toledo. Mary Jo’s strong, determined personality found her on many paths.
Confident and forward-looking, Sister left her two years of elementary school teaching to begin teaching at Notre Dame Academy in 1968 specializing in French, social studies, and religion, as well as becoming a college instructor of history at the Notre Dame Extension College. When she began teaching at St. Wendelin, Fostoria, in 1984 she made friends with women in a migrant camp. Discovering over 100 migrant camps in Northwest Ohio, she discerned the call to work with migrants full time.
In 1998 Sister Mary Jo became the founder/director of En Camino Ministry for the Diocese of Toledo and co-director in the Office of Hispanic Ministries. Sister broadened her outreach in 2007 when she became the Sisters of Notre Dame Representative as an NGO at the United Nations, a position she held until 2015. There she advocated for women and girls through systemic change and empowerment critical for their economic and political rights. She also participated in a Forum of Catholic Inspired NGOs at New Challenges in a Globalizing World in Rome in 2010. Back in Ohio in 2016, Sister continued in migrant and refugee outreach until 2023.
When Parkinson’s disease limited her, she moved to Rosary Care Center in Sylvania, Ohio, where she resided for nearly three years. There her prayer and life-long welcoming of all people continued until her death, less than two weeks after entering Hospice.
May she now enjoy the loving embrace of our good and provident God.
by Dreamhost