Religion / Politics / Science & invention
Agnes Mary Mansour
1931–2004 · former nun, college president, Michigan social services director
Detroit-born Sister of Mercy and biochemist who led Mercy College of Detroit, then left religious life in 1983 in a Vatican dispute over her state social services post.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
aged 73- Also known as
- Sister Agnes Mary Mansour
- Detroit years
- 1931–2004
- Field
- Religion, Politics, Science & invention
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Agnes Mary Mansour was born in Detroit in 1931, the youngest of four daughters of Lebanese immigrants,. She graduated from Mercy College of Detroit in 1953 in medical technology and chemistry and that year entered the Sisters of Mercy, taking perpetual vows in 1959. After earning a doctorate in biochemistry she taught and chaired a science department, and in 1971 she became president of Mercy College of Detroit, doubling its degree programs. In 1982 she ran in the Democratic primary for Congress, drawing public comment from the archbishop of Detroit. Governor James Blanchard then named her director of the Michigan Department of Social Services, which funded abortions for Medicaid recipients. Mansour, who called abortion tragic but believed it should stay legal, refused to take a public stand against it, and in May 1983 the Vatican made her choose between the post and her vows. She left the order and served out her term. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.
Highlights
- President of Mercy College of Detroit, 1971–1983
- Director of the Michigan Department of Social Services from 1983
- Left the Sisters of Mercy in 1983 after a Vatican ultimatum
- Inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1988