Sister Victoria Karp, CSJ

St. Paul wishes for all of us in the first reading: “May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith and may charity be the root and foundation of your life.” We are here today to celebrate the life of someone who lived with charity as the foundation of her life, Maria Victoria Karp, Sister Marion Ann, a Sister of St. Joseph for almost seventy five years

Born to Mary and Anthony in Brooklyn, Victoria attended St. Rose of Lima Parish School and St. Brendan’s High School. Soon after graduation she entered the congregation and taught elementary school in Brooklyn at St. Francis of Assisi,   Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Michael’s.  During those years Victoria earned a degree in English from Manhattan College and a Masters in Library Science from St. John’s University.  She served as Librarian in Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead and the Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood.

Open to the Spirit once again, Victoria realized the need for Religious Education, especially on Long Island. She earned a Masters in Religious Education from Fordham University and served in the Rockville Center Diocesan Office for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.  Attentive to the needs of the times and cognizant of the need to reach out to the growing population  through the media,  Victoria was faithful to our educational mission requiring that we be on the cutting edge to minister with excellence and so she studied Media in Religious Education at Loyola University.  This was the start of her sixteen year ministry at Telecare, the Catholic Faith Network of the Rockville Centre Diocese.  Victoria reached out to countless men, women and children sharing the Gospel message through the media but most of all through the example of her life.  In her later years of ministry, Victoria shared her expertise with technology at Sacred Heart Academy and the Learning Connection.

As a faithful Sister of St. Joseph, Victoria was always responsive to the needs of the time and did whatever was necessary to meet them.  She accepted the strength Isaiah describes a strength that enabled her not to grow weary and her hope in the Lord renewed her strength.  So now we can rejoice that she now soars as with eagles wings and is embraced in the arms of her loving God.  We are grateful for Victoria’s faithfulness and celebrate her generous sharing of her gifts for all of her length of days.

Sister Victoria Karp, CSJ died on November 29, 2018 in the 75th year of her religious life.