Funeral Mass held for Msgr. McSorley, St. Bernard pastor emeritus

Funeral Mass was held April 7 at St. Bernard Church in Los Angeles for Msgr. Hugh Gerald McSorley, 72, pastor emeritus, who died March 28.

Ordained in 1964 at All Hallows Seminary in Dublin, Ireland, for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Msgr. McSorley served almost 50 years of priestly ministry in the archdiocese.

He ministered as associate pastor at several parishes, including St. Mariana de Paredes, Pico Rivera; Holy Angels, Arcadia; St. Timothy, Los Angeles; and St. Barnabas, Long Beach. He served 12 years (1981-93) as pastor at St. Mariana de Paredes, and in 1993 was named pastor of St. Bernard, retiring as pastor emeritus in 2011.

Upon learning of Msgr. McSorley’s death, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin wrote from Ireland sending“deepest sympathy to the extended family in St. Bernard’s parish… Thank you for making [Msgr. McSorley] ‘one of your own’ for such a long time, and may his gentle soul rest in peace.”

Burial will be in Ireland. Condolences may be sent to the Family of Monsignor McSorley c/o St. Bernard Church, 2500 W. Avenue 33, Los Angeles, CA 90065.

n Sr. Mary Anita Hornack, SND

Funeral Mass was held March 29 at the Notre Dame Center chapel in Thousand Oaks for Sister of Notre Dame Mary Anita Hornack, 99, who died March 23. She had been a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame since 1932.

After teaching in Ohio for 29 years, Sister Hornack came to California in 1963. She taught at St. Rose of Lima, Maywood; St. Bernardine of Siena, Woodland Hills; St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo; and Our Lady of Assumption, Ventura. She retired to Notre Dame Center in 2002. Burial was at Assumption Cemetery in Simi Valley.

nSr. Marion Loretta Carr, PBVM

A Memorial Mass was held March 19 at the Presentation Motherhouse in San Francisco for Sister of the Presentation Marion Loretta Carr, who died Feb. 14. She had been a Sister of the Presentation for 73 years.

A native of San Francisco, she earned her B.A. from the University of San Francisco in 1955, an M.A. from Loyola University in 1963 and an Ed.D. from USF in 1981. She began her ministry in Catholic education in 1943 teaching at elementary schools in San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Jose.

In 1955, Sister Carr began 17 years in high school education teaching English, mathematics and Church history at Our Lady of Loretto High School, Los Angeles, and Presentation High School, San Francisco.

She then spent three years serving as the first national communications director for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious followed by stints as an English literature professor and writing specialist at USF and the Junshin Women’s College in Nagasaki, Japan. She retired from teaching in 1996. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Sisters of the Presentation, Development Office, 281 Masonic Ave., San Francisco, CA 94118.

nColette Bertsch, IHM

A Memorial Mass was celebrated April 10, at St. Brendan Church in Los Angeles for Colette Bertsch, 81, a member of the Immaculate Heart Community, who died March 14 at the IHM Residence in L.A. from complications of pneumonia.

Bertsch attended St. Brendan School and Immaculate Heart College, where she developed her love for the arts, especially theater. She was an advertising copywriter for 35 years, and in 1998 began studies in theology at Mount St. Mary’s College. At the Mount, she took graduate courses from Alexis Navarro IHM and Marie Egan IHM, through whom her desire grew to become a member of the Immaculate Heart Community.

She served as Eucharistic minister and lector at St. Brendan’s, regularly emceed at IHM events, and shared her talents of storytelling and singing with family, friends, Community members and parishioners. Donations in her memory may be sent to Immaculate Heart Community, 5515 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028.