Catherine Marie O'Brien was born on May 3, 1940, the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Patrick and Brigid O'Brien (née Callahan). She was baptized at Saint Patrick's Parish in South Boston three days later, and the Church was the compass of her life from that day forward. Catherine received her First Holy Communion at age seven and was confirmed at Saint Patrick's, taking the name Thérèse in honor of the Little Flower. She attended Saint Columbkille School and later Emmanuel College, where she earned a degree in education and met her husband, Francis Joseph Donovan, at a Newman Club dance in 1961. For forty-two years, Catherine taught second grade at Saint Gregory School in Dorchester, preparing hundreds of children for their First Communion with patience, warmth, and a gift for making the sacred feel close. She was a daily communicant, a member of the Rosary Society for fifty years, and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion who brought the Eucharist to the homebound every Friday morning without fail. In her final years, Catherine's faith deepened rather than dimmed. She received the Anointing of the Sick with great peace, surrounded by her family and her pastor, Father Michael Shea. She entered eternal life on September 12, 2026, the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary. She was 86 years old.

Hobbies & interests

Praying the Rosary each morning; tending her statue garden; baking Irish soda bread for parish fundraisers; reading lives of the saints; leading the children's First Communion preparation class; visiting the homebound with Holy Communion every Friday

Survived by

Her husband of 64 years, Francis Joseph Donovan; four children: Father Patrick Donovan, O.F.M. (Franciscan friar), Sister Mary Brigid Donovan, R.S.M. (Sister of Mercy), Thomas Francis Donovan (Eileen) of Boston, MA, and Margaret Donovan-Walsh (Kevin) of Providence, RI; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and her sister, Eileen O'Brien-Murphy of Quincy, MA.

Preceded in death by

Her parents, Patrick and Brigid O'Brien; her brother, James Patrick O'Brien; and her infant grandson, Joseph Francis Donovan.