Born and raised in Scotland, Sister Rosemary Reilly was the eldest of three children of Roseanna and Patrick Reilly. Her early life in Carfin, a small mining village, was centered on church and parish activities. In her late teens Sister Rosemary felt a call to religious life. An encounter with a sister home on holiday led her to visit the sisters ministering to young adults with special needs at Carstairs. “A few months later I left Carfin for Rearsby, England, a place I had barely ever heard of,” she wrote on her Jubilee in 2024. “Now 70 years later I look back and wonder where the years have gone; and I am eternally grateful for the opportunities I have been given, and the things I have experienced over the years.”
Trained as a teacher, with a specialization in Domestic Science, Sister Rosemary shared her gifts with students in Grimsby, Bradford, and Cameroon. “All these places gave me great experiences and opportunities to meet wonderful people.”
Sister Rosemary was also deeply involved in CSJP community life, serving in province leadership and on several Congregation committees. She relished participating in Congregation Chapters, "where we got to know each other better and to make friends with our sisters in the U.S." In recent years, she connected with sisters and associates across the miles through technology, participating in a cross-congregation faith sharing group. “Now with the internet, Zoom, and other wonders, we are able to bond more Congregationally through faith sharing and discussions together.”
Relationship and connection—to God, family, friends, and community—were central to Sister Rosemary’s way of being. We give thanks for her life of love and end with these words from her 70th Jubilee reflection: “As I look back on the years already gone, I am deeply grateful for the love and support of my two families, my natural family and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace who have been with me through it all. Thank God I have had a fulfilled and happy life.”