Mary Clarentia was born on March 16, 1920, to Johanna Sutton Hutchins and Joseph Bernard Hutchins, of Louisville, Ky. She had two brothers Xavier, called X, and Henry. Her parents took Mary Clarentia, only five days old, to St. Patrick Church to be baptized. Mary Clarentia attended St. Patrick School and later St. Brigid School in Louisville. Her high school days were spent at Mercy Academy. After graduating from high school in 1938, Mary Clarentia was feeling it was the appointed time to make a decision about her vocation. She felt a pull to follow Jesus more closely by becoming an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph. Her class entered the novitiate on August 14, 1939, and Mary Clarentia became Sister Mary Clarentia.
She gained her degrees from Ursuline College and Catherine Spalding College in Louisville and Brescia College in Owensboro. Over the next 48 years, Sister Clarentia served as teacher, and often times as principal as well, in 14 schools scattered over the Diocese of Owensboro and the Archdiocese of Louisville. The schools were: St. Lawrence, St. Denis, Louisville, Holy Cross, Curdsville, Cloverport, New Haven, St. Paul, Leitchfield, Buechel, Sorgho, Mayfield, Hardinsburg, Hawesville, Hodgenville, and St. Francis in Loretto, Ky. To sustain herself in her ministry of education, Sister Mary Clarentia went to Mass and received the Eucharist daily. She had a great devotion to Jesus, his mother Mary and good Saint Joseph. She was a prayerful woman and spent a lot of time with the rosary and Marian devotions.
In 1987 she retired from teaching in schools but declared she had plenty of time left to invest in people in need. Sister Clarentia remained in Louisville and for the next 19 years she volunteered at the St. Anthony soup kitchen, and at the Red Cross. She helped the elderly, visiting the nursing homes and hospitals. She was energized by a deep sensitivity to others. She often said, “I see the need because so many people are lonely.”
Sister Clarentia retired to the Motherhouse in 2005 and resided in Saint Joseph Villa. She was very active, helping anyone who needed help. She died on November 5, 2014, and her funeral was celebrated on November 7 at the Mount Saint Joseph Chapel. Sister’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery.