Sr. Mary Carlotta Bartone, SHCJ

Carlotta Bartone, SHCJ

June 24, 1935 – October 18, 2024

Educator, Administrator, Canon Lawyer, Postulator for the 

Beatification of Venerable Cornelia Connelly

Rosemont, Pennsylvania – Carlotta Bartone, SHCJ, a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus for 64 years, died peacefully on Friday, October 18, 2024. She was 89. 

Sister Carlotta, a gifted linguist who spoke French, Italian, and Latin, loved the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, her family, and the opera, and enjoyed good Italian food. She was a wonderful teacher and a good friend to many. 

Sister Carlotta was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she first met the Holy Child Sisters as a high school student at Saint Leonard’s Academy. After high school graduation, Sister Carlotta earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. She entered the Society in 1957, making her first and final vows in 1960 and 1965, respectively. She became well known by her religious name, Mother Mary Carlotta.

Early in religious life, Sister Carlotta taught French at numerous East Coast schools, including Holy Child Academy at Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania (1960-67), John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School in Philadelphia (1967-70), and Cornelia Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland (1973-75 and 1976-78). For a brief time, she served in administration at her high school alma mater, Saint Leonard’s Academy (1970-73), and later returned to the classroom there to teach French (1978-80).

Sister Carlotta shifted her ministerial focus from teaching to communication-related service in 1980. She was a translator for the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Catholic Immigration Office (1980-83) and then was appointed the American Province’s communication director (1983-88).

A significant change in Sister Carlotta’s life occurred when she returned to school in 1988 to study Canon Law at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Armed with her law degree, she worked in the Tribunal Offices for the Diocese of Trenton (1990-94), the Diocese of Erie (1994-97), and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where she served as the Tribunal Judge (1997-2006). 

In 2007, Sister Carlotta officially retired but continued to dedicate her time and gifts by promoting the canonization of the Society’s foundress, Venerable Cornelia Connelly. Sister Carlotta served as the Society’s postulator for Cornelia’s cause, was a member of the Society’s international committee, Cornelia Connelly Promoters, and worked with Holy Child Associate Judith (Judy) Talvacchia on Judy’s book on Cornelia’s life. 

Sister Carlotta joins her parents, Joseph and Maria (Della Corte), and brother, Francis, in eternal life. She is survived by cousins in France and Italy, and her late brother’s companion and dear friend, Gretchen VanDenbergh.

Friends and family are invited to a Prayer of Remembrance on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., and a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, October 26, at 11:00 a.m., at Holy Child Chapel, 1341 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, Pennsylvania 19010. Preceding Mass, friends and family are welcome to attend the visitation at 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Society of the Holy Child Jesus – American Province, 1341 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, Pennsylvania 19010, or made online at www.shcj.org/american/donate.