Margaret McEntee
{{Short description|American Catholic nun and educator}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sister Margaret McEntee, SC
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| birth_name = Margaret C. McEntee
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|07|10}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, US
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| occupation = Religious sister, teacher
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Margaret C. McEntee SR. SC., also known by her confirmation name Marita James, (born July 10, 1935)[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KKZJ-X7Q Margaret McEntee public record] Retrieved May 11, 2016 is an American Catholic religious sister and educator who is known as being the inspiration for the character of Sister James in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley. The 2008 film adaptation is dedicated to her.[http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/No-doubt-about-it-nun-inspired-playwright,39848 No Doubt About It, Nun Inspired Story] Retrieved May 10, 2016[http://bronx.news12.com/news/bronx-nun-inspires-oscar-nominated-film-doubt-1.8203152 Bronx Nun Inspires Film] Retrieved May 11, 2016
Biography
Sister James was born and raised in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, in New York City and is of Irish Catholic ancestry, the daughter of Margaret (née Ware) and James McEntee. She attended St. Margaret of Cortona School in Riverdale.{{cite web|url=http://smcsriverdale.org|title=St. Margaret of Cortona|website=St. Margaret of Cortona}} She took the name of Marita James for her confirmation name. Later in her career it became acceptable for nuns to use their baptismal name, so she reverted to using the name Sister Margaret. She first taught school at St. Anthony's School in the Bronx.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/education/a-teacher-sees-herself-younger-and-on-broadway.html| title=A Teacher Sees Herself Younger, and on Broadway| work=The New York Times| date=March 30, 2005| access-date=May 11, 2016}}
She felt compelled to join the sisters at a young age, and after graduating high school she joined the Sisters of Charity of New York at age 18 in 1953. She became an educator at age 21. One of her students was the playwright John Patrick Shanley, who has stated in interviews that Sister James was a major influence in his life.
She has taught at many religious institutions in the Bronx, including principal at St. Barnabas High School, where she was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2013. She has taught religion at the Notre Dame School, St. Raymond Academy, and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
Through her work with the Sisters of Charity, she has been involved with many community service projects for the Bronx community. Outside of the Bronx, she served as the Assistant Principal at St. Augustine's College in Nassau, Bahamas, and also taught in Pennsylvania.[http://catholicny.static2.adqic.com/uploads/files/18de2d5252.pdf Margaret McEntee biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106185220/http://catholicny.static2.adqic.com/uploads/files/18de2d5252.pdf |date=November 6, 2016 }} ; retrieved May 11, 2016.[https://variety.com/2009/film/awards/unsung-hero-sr-margaret-mcentee-s-c-1118000017/ Unsung Hero: Margaret McEntee]; retrieved May 11, 2016.[http://www.stbarnabashigh.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=159285&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=398032 Hall of Fame] ; retrieved May 11, 2016
Portrayal in media
When Doubt was preparing to open on the Broadway stage, she coached actress Heather Goldenhersh on how to play the role of a nun based on herself. Goldenhersh was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal.[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cathleen-falsani/beyond-the-shadow-of-a-do_b_150496.html Beyond The Shadow of a Doubt] Retrieved May 11, 2016
McEntee was hired to serve as technical advisor for the 2008 film version of Doubt. She coached the production team as well as actress Amy Adams, who was portraying her, in how things worked within the Sisters of Charity, in particular at the time the story is set in the 1960s. Adams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal.[http://scny.org/files/2014/08/Vision_Winter_2008-2009.pdf McEntee a Role Model. Sisters of Charity 2008 Newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106123437/http://scny.org/files/2014/08/Vision_Winter_2008-2009.pdf |date=November 6, 2016 }} Retrieved May 10, 2016
While the character Sister James is based on McEntee, the characters Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius, along with the story of abuse within the school where she taught, are entirely fictional and created by Shanley for dramatic purposes. McEntee has attended regional productions of Doubt as a special guest and mentor for the production.[http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/06-13-2012_a-tale-of-two-sisters.htm A Tale of Two Sisters] Retrieved May 11, 2016[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-12-11-doubt-nuns_N.htm Doubt cut from nun's cloth] Retrieved May 11, 2016
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3474404}}
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Category:Daughters and Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
Category:People from the Bronx
Category:Schoolteachers from New York (state)
Category:20th-century American women educators
Category:People from Riverdale, Bronx
Category:20th-century American educators
Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns
Category:21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns
Category:Catholics from New York (state)
Category:Educators from New York City