Sister Catherine Cahur, SC

Sister Catherine Cahur, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 64 years, is pictured at a party marking her 60th jubilee year. (Photo by Dennis Callahan/Catholic San Francisco).

Oct. 7, 2019

Sister Catherine Cahur, SC, died Sept. 22 in San Francisco at the age of 82. She was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 64 years.
 
Born March 8, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio, Sister Cahur entered the religious community in 1955 after being educated by the sisters at Holy Name High School.
 
The first 27 of Sister Cahur’s 50 years of active ministry were spent as an educator in schools in Michigan, Ohio and Colorado. In the late 1980s, Sister Cahur began a new direction in her ministry. She became a student of transpersonal psychology, and after earning a counseling degree, accepted a position with the Bay Area Addiction Research Treatment Clinic in San Francisco. The clinic offered outpatient medical and counseling services for 600 heroin addicts. By 1996 she was serving as an internal auditor responsible for quality assurance, and county and clinic policies and procedures.
 
Sister Cahur found great satisfaction in being able to help people in San Francisco during the AIDS crisis, prior to the use of inhibitors for HIV+ persons. Her own parish, Most Holy Redeemer, lost 40 percent of their community during the AIDS crisis.
 
Sister Cahur was very involved in parish life at MHR where she served on the RCIA team and early on, the Formation-Education Commission. She facilitated a Centering Prayer group for more than 25 years.  She, personally, provided experiences to help others deepen their relationship with God through contemplative retreats, speakers’ series and inter-generational dialogue.
 
A service honoring Sister Cathy's life was held Oct. 5 at Most Holy Redeemer.