Sister Lorraine Mosso, SSND

Our beloved Sister Lorraine (M. Laurita) Mosso died peacefully in Notre Dame Health Care, Good Counsel Hill, Mankato, Minnesota, at 1:45 a.m. on July 4, 2018. As her health declined, she often expressed her longing to go to heaven. The funeral liturgy, with Father Eugene Stenzel as presider, will be held Thursday, July 12, at 10:30 a.m. in Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel. A prayer service of remembrance will precede the funeral liturgy at 9:00 a.m. Burial of her cremains will follow in the Good Counsel cemetery. We extend our sympathy to her brothers Bill and Tom (Lois), her niece and nephews and their families, her friends, colleagues and former students, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame and SSND Associates. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Lorain (Krumheuer) Mosso, and her brother, Earl. Sister Lorraine was born in St. Paul on April 20, 1926, the second child and only daughter in the Mosso family. Her brother, Earl, was four when Lorraine was born, and two more brothers, Bill and Tom, followed. She was baptized Lorraine Mary at St. Matthew Church, named after her mother. Lorraine knew from an early age that she wanted to be a sister and wrote in her autobiography, “From the very first time I saw a sister, I always had the desire to be just like them. From a little tot on through the grades, I accompanied my aunt to Sunday afternoon devotions, May devotions, etc., and always delighted in kneeling right behind the sisters or right across the aisle from them. Oh, for the day to be like them!” Lorraine entered kindergarten at St. Matthew School in 1931, extremely happy that she now had sisters for teachers. She wrote, “As I went through the grades, each sister found out my desire to be one of them someday and always had an encouraging word and told me to keep praying.” She continued, “Several weeks before eighth grade graduation, Sister M. Agnesine (Obinger) came and talked to the girls in our class. I was all ears, eager to know all about the aspiranture and Good Counsel. Up to this time, I hadn’t mentioned my wish to go to Good Counsel. That evening I went home all enthused with the idea. It was such a shock to Mother and Dad – both thought I was too young to make such a decision. Dad said I should first attend two years of high school at St. Matthew’s and after that I could go. I was ready to do as Dad wanted, thinking he knew best.” About a week before school was to reopen, Sister M. Raphaeline (Baumgartner) asked her dad to stop at the convent after evening devotions and talked to him for about five minutes. The next morning, her mother asked if she still wanted to go to Good Counsel and said that her dad now approved of the idea. In the fall of 1940, Lorraine became a freshman aspirant at Good Counsel Academy. She recalled her high school years as unforgettable, a time to become acquainted with “many wonderful girls.” She graduated from Good Counsel in 1944 and entered the SSND candidature that same year. As a second year candidate she taught 48 fourth graders at Sacred Heart, St. Paul. At the close of the school year she returned to Good Counsel to prepare for reception into the novitiate. She was received in July 1946 and given the name Sister Mary Laurita. She later returned to her baptismal name. Following profession of first vows in 1947, she began her teaching ministry at St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul where one of her community members was Sister Raphaeline who had arranged that Lorraine go to the aspiranture several years before. The next year, Sister Laurita was missioned to St. Leo in rural western Minnesota. Here, in addition to teaching grades five and six, she also was responsible for music in the school and parish. She wrote, “I loved teaching before coming to St. Leo, and loved it more each day. It was my first experience with country children and I enjoyed working with them the very first day of school.” For two summers she studied music at Viterbo College in La Crosse. In January 1950, she was transferred to St. John the Baptist, Jordan, where she taught grades six and seven and was responsible for the choir. Similar assignments followed at St. Andrew, St. Paul, and at St. Clara, Clara City. In 1960, she was appointed principal and upper grade teacher at St. John the Baptist, Searles. In 1966, she moved westward to St. Joseph, Clements, where she was principal, taught, and took care of the music. In 1967, she moved to St. Peter School, New Haven, Iowa, with the knowledge that the school would close at the end of the school year. She recalled, “This was a heartbreaker for it was wonderful to teach grades six, seven and eight.” Following a semester of recuperation from back surgery, in January 1969 she went to Sacred Heart, Heron Lake, again knowing that the school would close in spring. Sister Lorraine then went to St. Francis Xavier, Sartell, until December 1970. Knowing that she needed time for rest and change, she spent the next 18 months at Good Counsel. After one year of teaching music at Silver Lake Catholic Schools, she became principal at St. Bernard, Cologne (1972-74). From 1974-78, she served as a teacher’s aide and taught music, first at St. Felix, Wabasha, and then back at St. John the Baptist, Searles. During her years of teaching, she earned a B.A. in English and music from St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul. Sister Lorraine described the next phase of her SSND ministry: “In 1978 there was a need for someone to work with our retired sisters in the Motherhouse. I was asked to do Remotivation Therapy and music with the sisters. What a delightful change! This therapy worked wonders for mental stimulation and relaxation. I did this for eight years, and then did pastoral care for two more years.” She also helped with motherhouse administration, coordinated transportation, and gave community service in other ways. In 1987, Sister Lorraine’s parents moved to Regina Medical Center in Hastings. She was also ready for a change, and applied for a position at Regina in January 1988. Sister Tabitha, the administrator, told Sister Lorraine that she could live and work at Regina and that a position in human resources would be waiting for her when she returned from a planned sabbatical in Chatawa, Mississippi. Sister Lorraine continued to work at Good Counsel until May, participated in the renewal program from September through December, and began working in finance and human resources at Regina in January 1989. After six years, she transferred to activities and worked there another five years. She so appreciated this opportunity, where she was able to help care for her parents. (Her father died in 1990 and her mother in 1999.) Sister Lorraine retired to Good Counsel in 1999. She commented about her life on the Hill: “My ministry of prayer, reception desk, helping in Notre Dame Health Care visiting the sisters and playing organ for their prayer times keeps me busy. The Lord has been good to me over these many years and I am truly grateful for the opportunities I have had to touch so many lives.” Gracious and appreciative, she enjoyed frequent visits from her brothers and their families. She kept in touch with them and others via e-mail. Aware of her vocation to religious life from an early age, Sister Lorraine could truly echo the words of Mary as she exclaimed, “The Lord has done great things for me.” And in return, Sister Lorraine, in her own way, did great things for others. May she now be enjoying full union with the God she served these many years.