Mary Lillian, born Feb. 16, 1892, in Owensboro, Ky., was the daughter of Henry and Frances Clark Hayden. She entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph at the age of 18. After a 25-day postulancy, she received the Ursuline habit on August 30, 1910. Mary Lillian was given the name Sister Gabriella. Somewhere through the early years, her name was shortened to Sister Gabriel.
Sister Gabriel’s first assignment took her to Lebanon, Ky., where she opened St. Charles School High School in 1912 and served as principal for 14 years. She then taught at St. Columba School in Louisville for five years. Beginning in 1931, Sister Gabriel spent 15 years at Mount Saint Joseph as assistant to the community secretary. Other assignments followed which found her teaching either the upper grades or high school subjects in the public and parochial schools operated by the Ursuline Sisters in Kentucky: Earlington, Brescia College (three years), St. Charles, Knottsville, St. Charles, New Haven, and Leitchfield. It is interesting to note that during her three assignments to St. Charles, Lebanon, Sister spent a total of 21 years there.
Having retired from teaching in 1965, Sister Gabriel returned to Mount Saint Joseph. She led a quiet, prayerful life, hospitable to visitors and genuinely interested in each Sister’s story and their needs. One of her favorite pastimes, come spring, was diligently harvesting dandelions for making her “famous” wine. Death came to her on September 24, 1971. Father Lucian Hayden and Father Michael Hayden, Sister’s nephews, celebrated her funeral Mass. Nine other priests were present in the sanctuary. Sister Gabriel’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Her Ursuline sister, Sister Raphael, preceded her in death as had her brother, Father Jolly Paschal Hayden.