Sister Mary Leo

Sister Mary Leo (born 1916) is a Benedictine nun who taught for 46 years at John Carroll Catholic High School. She was a biology, theology and physical education teacher when the school first opened on Highland Avenue in 1947 and continued to work as alumni coordinator and editor of the Carollife alumni newsletter until her retirement in 2007 at the age of 92.

As a girl, she decided to become a nun while a student at the Benedictine Boarding School in Cullman, operated by the Sacred Heart Monastery.

From 1953 to 1957 she swapped posts with a nun at the Pensacola Catholic High School so that she could be with her sick mother in Birmingham. Sister Mary Leo returned to John Carroll and rose to become chair of the theology department in 1972, a post she held until 1988.

In 1992 the school relocated to Lakeshore Drive. She stepped away from the classroom in 1996, but remained in touch with the school's extensive network of alumni. She was renowned for her vast and detailed memory of former students and their successes in later life.

Sister Mary Leo resides in a home owned by the Benedictines in Hoover, but expects to move to the Sacred Heart Monastery.

References

• Garrison, Greg (August 11, 2008) "John Carroll High's Sister Leo takes exit after six decades." Birmingham News