San Rafael Dominicans Celebrate Two
Sisters Who Reach 100th Birthdays  

SAN RAFAEL, CA - December 17, 2007 -- The Dominican Sisters of San Rafael recently celebrated the accomplishment of two of their sisters who reached a milestone few people ever see, their 100th birthday. Not just one, but two Dominican Sisters of San Rafael gained the three digit age marker: Sister M. Antoninus Tucci, OP was born November 7, 1907 in Avellino, Italy and Sister Claire Maher, OP, was born November 15, 2007 in Morning Sun, Iowa.

Sister M. Antoninus Tucci, OP ( Diamante Tucci) was 12 years old when she traveled to the United States with her mother, two sisters and brother to join her father in Livermore, California. She had known from childhood that she wanted to enter the convent, and did so when she was seventeen. As a novice she began making rosaries, an activity she carried on until blindness forced her to stop in her nineties. Sister Antoninus was an elementary school teacher for fifty years, and taught many children how to count to ten by stringing rosary beads. For twelve years she ministered in Saint Mary’s Hospital in Reno, Nevada, visiting patients. Sister Antoninus now resides at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael. She celebrated her 80th jubilee in July.

Sister Claire Maher, OP ( Mary Catherine Maher) one of nine children, came to California to stay with her uncle, Monsignor Edward J. Maher when she was nineteen. He encouraged her to consider the Dominican Sisters in San Rafael and her entry into the convent was settled after her meeting with Mother Louis O’Donnell. Sister Claire was highly regarded in schools throughout California and Nevada as a teacher and principal. She is also the epitome of Dominican graciousness and hospitality. For twenty years after her retirement from teaching, Sister Claire served as the alumnae moderator for San Domenico, nurturing those ties with and among the school’s graduates. Today she lives at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael and still maintains an active social life.