Rose Sylvia Lindner, SSND
October 7, 1933 – June 18, 2025
Audrey Sylvia was born to Lawrence and Rose Joerger Lindner on October 7, 1933. She was baptized on November 19, 1933, at St. Mary Church in Alexandria, Virginia. She was part of a family with two sisters and three brothers. She is survived by her brother, Lawrence, and his wife, Celeste, of Virginia, as well as by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and her dear friends, Irene McCutcheon and Pat Dellacruse.
During Rose’s wake service, Sister Mary Fitzgerald recounted how influential Rose’s family was in her life saying, “Rose quoted her mother as having said, ‘None of us is so rich that we don’t need something from someone else. None of us is so poor that we don’t have something to share,’” an appropriate saying for the mother of a future religious sister.
Rose attended Immaculate Conception High School, where she met the Daughters of Charity and admired their love for the poor. She became a member of the Louise de Marillac Society which helped mothers provide meals, clean their homes, and care for children. After graduation, she spent two years working for the federal government.
She entered the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on September 8, 1953. When she became a novice, she received her religious name, Rose. This was followed by first profession of vows on July 29, 1954. Rose served in a variety of ministries from 1955-1986, including teaching, prison ministry, parish outreach, and evangelization. During this time, she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Elementary Education from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg and a Master of Arts degree in teaching with a major in guidance and a minor in counseling from Trinity College (now University) in 1977.
In 1986, while serving as Pastoral Associate at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Washington, DC, Rose began the process to transfer from the Daughters of Charity to the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Sr. Bernice Feilinger, who spoke at Rose’s wake, accompanied Rose during the process and shared love for Mother Seton. The completion of that transfer was marked with Rose’s profession of final vows as an SSND on March 24, 1990, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rose’s ministry from 1986 through 2013 was focused on animating others through education, advocacy, and action in response to urgent social needs. She did this as a member of the parish staff at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Washington, DC, St. Bernadette in Severn, MD, and at St. Joseph in Cockeysville, MD, where she ministered for 20 years.
Mary, who lived in community with Rose for ten years, spoke of Rose’s desire to transfer to SSND, saying she was, “drawn by our initiation of outreach programs and a desire to witness unity in the world, and among ourselves.” She worked in conjunction with the United Churches Assistance Network (UCAN) to provide food, clothing, and housing for those in need.
From 2013 until 2018, Rose combined volunteer ministry, especially at Mother Seton Academy, with the ministry of prayer and presence in her local community on Roland Ave. She moved to Villa Assumpta in 2018 as a member of the Visitation Community. Rose always looked for, and welcomed, opportunities to be of service, most recently as a “relief” receptionist at the front desk.
Rose died peacefully on June 18, 2025, in Rosary Community at Villa Assumpta in Baltimore. Her nieces, Kelli and Rose, who live out of state, had recently enjoyed a day of visiting with Rose. Sisters from the Rosary and VA communities had been accompanying Rose and kept vigil at her bedside. Sister Bernice, who kept vigil, said, “It was a blessing for me to be able to be with Rose during her Journey to heaven and the at the moment God called her home. Often, I prayed with her, ‘Mother Seton, Mother Theresa, and Mother Caroline Pray for Rose.’”
Rose was a participant in the Rush Religious Orders Study, which involved the donation of brain and other tissue after her death, for use in research on Alzheimer's disease.
Rose’s life was celebrated with a viewing, wake and Mass of Resurrection in the Chapel at Villa Assumpta in Baltimore on July 2, 2025. Rev. Lawrence B. Terrien, P.S.S., chaplain for the Villa Assumpta/Rosary communities, presided at the liturgy. Interment followed at Villa Maria Cemetery in Glen Arm, MD.
We thank God for bestowing the gift of Rose upon her family, religious communities, ministries, and the people of God. We pray Rose’s vision of entering eternity came true with Mary taking one hand, Jesus the other, and both guiding her to our heavenly home.
By S. Paula Dukehart, SSND, and Lauren Ciotti
