Sister Aureen Rose Virginie Behrend (Sister Rose Virginie) died Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Liberty Commons in Chatham after a long illness. She was 74 years of age and had been a Contemplative Sister of the Good Shepherd for 56 years. Sister Aureen Rose was born in Manchester, Conn., in 1938, the daughter of the late Clarence Behrend and Catherine (Phillips) Behrend.

After graduating from high school, Sister Rose entered the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd Novitiate in Peekskill, N.Y., in 1956.  Sister made her first religious profession in 1960 and pronounced her final vows in 1966.

Sister Aureen Rose was a woman of many gifts and talents and she generously shared them in her work in the Contemplative Community in Peekskill. In 1977 Sister was missioned to the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Marlborough and devoted herself to the Good Shepherd mission of prayer and the baking and distribution of altar breads.

Sister Aureen Rose then went on to earn her certification as a nurse's assistant and lovingly cared for the Sisters in the Good Shepherd Infirmary in Marlborough, where she later served as local Community Leader. In 1992 Sister was missioned to a newly established community in Harwichport, and in addition to her altar bread ministry she served as Pastoral Minister to the Sisters at Epoch (Cranberry Point) Nursing Home in Harwich. To help in her work with the elderly, Sister also did further study in the field of gerontology at Cape Cod Community College. The Sisters of the Good Shepherd is an international congregation and after Vatican Council II, Sister served for many years on several national and international planning and renewal committees. Sister also used her wonderful leadership skills in her service on the Province Leadership Team.

Sister Aureen Rose Virginie is survived by her sister, Shirley Cyr of Manchester, Conn., her niece, Aureen Currin and her husband, Erik, and their two sons, Ethan and Justin; and her niece, Audra Cyr and her children, Isis, Jelisa and Jordan.

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered Tuesday, March 26, at 10 a.m., for Sister Aureen Rose at Good Shepherd Center, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough. Visiting hours at Good Shepherd Center will be held Monday, March 25, from 4 to 8 p.m., with a Prayer Service at 7 p.m.  Burial will be in Mt. Benedict Cemetery, West Roxbury. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fitzgerald & Collins Funeral Home ( www.CollinsFuneral.com ), 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough. Expressions of sympathy in honor of Sister Aureen Rose may be made to the Good Shepherd Retirement Fund, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA 01752.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a worldwide congregation, was founded in France by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in 1835, in Boston in 1867, in Marlborough in 1964 and in Harwichport, 1993.