Background, Family:
Dates: July 22, 1860 - April 23, 1940
Occupation: religious leader
Known for: Mother General, Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Roman Catholic Church
Also known as: Mother Marie Joseph Butler, born as Johanna Butler, Mother Butler
Marie Joseph Butler Biography:
- Father: John Butler
- Mother: Ellen Forrestal Butler
- born in Ballynunnery, Ireland
Born in Ireland, Marie Joseph Butler entered a convent of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Mary in France in 1876. She moved to Portugal as a teacher in the order, and in 1903 was sent to head the order's school in Sag Harbor, New York.
Using family money she opened Marymount School at Tarrytown, New York, in 1907 and transformed it by 1918 into a college for women. In 1921-22, Marymount College of Los Angeles began operating, and 1923, a branch opened in Paris.
Marie Joseph also began a program of retreats for women which was used by other orders. She was elected Mother General in 1926.
Mother Marie Joseph Butler became an American Citizen in 1926, and opened new Marymount colleges in Rome, Italy, and Santa Barbara, California. She returned to Tarrytown, New York, where she died in 1940.
