A native of New York City, Sister Margaret Theresa Oettinger grew up as a member of the St. Catherine of Siena parish on the Upper East Side. She could never have foreseen that more than 80 years later, she would be a beacon of light and hope for that same neighborhood through her ministry of pastoral care at Hospital for Special Surgery.
Sr. Margaret entered the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill in 1962. After 20 years as an elementary school teacher in the New York Archdiocesan, Sr. Margaret left the comfort and security of home to serve as a missionary in Pakistan for eight years. In Pakistan her gifts for pastoral ministry became evident in her work at both parish and diocesan levels, her missionary work in the Punjab, and her ministry as a chaplain and patient advocate at Nishtar Hospital in Multan, one of the largest hospitals in Asia. When she returned to the United States in 1989, Sr. Margaret joyfully embraced the ministry of hospital chaplaincy and completed specialized training and certification in clinical pastoral chaplaincy education at NYU Medical Center.
In April 1992, Sr. Margaret was board certified by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and named Director of Spiritual Care at Hospital for Special Surgery where she currently serves on the Institutional Review Board, the Ethics Committee, and the Interdisciplinary Patient Education Council. In addition, she serves as the hospital’s liaison with the Dominican Friars Health Care Ministry of New York and the Healthcare chaplaincy Network.
With great insight and sensitivity, Sr. Margaret has been the face of God’s compassion, bringing to life the “good news” of the gospel for countless men, women, and children through her ministry of caring for the human spirit
St. Thomas Aquinas College is proud to honor her for advancing the mission of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill through her ministry of caring for the human spirit.