Margaret (Peg) A. Mattare, SSND
July 28, 1936 – December 23, 2025
On July 28, 1936, Margaret “Peggy” Mattare joined her family as the second daughter born to Richard and Margaret Mattare. The family would go on to add two more daughters. The four sisters, Mary Ellen, Margaret, Catherine Helen, and Janice Elkins, live with their parents in Baltimore, MD.
Peggy attended St. Bernard’s School, where she received her First Holy Communion and Confirmation and was taught by the Sisters of Mercy in 1948. The family moved to Dahlgren, Virginia, where she attended classes with Fr. Ruevaine at the Naval Base. The family moved multiple times over the following years before returning to Baltimore, where she finished her early education at St. Paul’s School in Baltimore.
She attended the Institute of Notre Dame (IND) in Baltimore, where she met the School Sisters of Notre Dame. During her freshman year at IND, she began to contemplate a vocation to religious life but did not consider it seriously until she survived a dangerous accident her junior year. In her autobiography, she recounted the time when she placed a key in a fuse box. In that moment, Peggy was electrocuted and suffered only very mild injuries. She attributed her safety to the Miraculous Medal she wore as part of her IND uniform. On August 28, 1954, she entered the candidature at the chapel in IND. She professed final vows on Jul 27, 1962.
The early years of her vocation were spent teaching elementary and middle school in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. After teaching high school science and math, Sister Peg began working at the University of Maryland as a research tech in a medical research lab. During her reflection at Peg’s wake, Sister Josephann Wagoner said this work inspired her to become a Physician’s Assistant (PA). Peg worked as a PA in the emergency and surgical departments at Francis Scott Key Medical Center and Harbor Hospital Medical Center. Josephann continued that Peg served her congregation in Romania, where she assessed the health of our Sisters who survived World War II and 40 years of communist rule.
In 1995, Sister Peg was appointed as the first International Shalom Coordinator to work at our Generalate in Rome, Italy. As a member of the Austrian Province, she introduced our congregation to the philosophy and principles of Shalom and built its organizational structure. She was the Local Leader of the Austrian Motherhouse from 1999 to 2005, where her primary responsibilities were to coordinate the health care of aging and retired Sisters. Sister Josephann said, “Before returning to the United States, a renovated full-fledged infirmary was completed in the Austrian Motherhouse.”
Shortly after her return to Baltimore, Peg became the Director of Wellness for the Atlantic-Midwest Province. Josephann quoted Peg as saying, “I truly loved my ministry with our sisters. It energized me and is a way of giving back a little to our community.”
In 2019, she began her ministry of Prayer and Presence first in the Rosary Community at Villa Assumpta and then at Stella Maris in 2022. Peg entered eternal life on December 23rd, 2025, in the presence of Sisters Rosalia Federici and Cora Lee Middleton, nurses, and family. A wake and Mass of Resurrection were held at the Stella Maris Nursing Home Chapel on January 16th. Rev. Lawrence B. Terrien, PSS, presided over the service. During his homily, he memorialized Sister Peg, saying,
“It seems to me, after looking at the life of Sister Peg… that she clearly did her best to live these values of the Gospel that Jesus preached and put them to work in the service of her brothers and sisters with a generous spirit and effective initiatives to improve their lives. I join all of you in giving thanks to God, who, by showing us in the life of his daughter and disciple, Sister Peg, helped us to see that Jesus did not take the kingdom back to heaven with him at his ascension. He continues to manifest his presence in people like Sister Peg, who took those beatitudes to heart, who worked to serve that kingdom and to show that it is possible to live here and now - the way I believe she is still living that life fully in the presence of her and our mighty Lord.”
Burial immediately followed the Mass at Villa Maria Cemetery in Glen Arm, Maryland.
By Lauren Ciotti
