On April 28, 2024 at the age of 93, CCHS' former director of the music department, Sister Mary Pauline Kuntne, passed away peacefully after decades of service to her Lord, to her students, and to her patients. Sister Pauline, as she was know at Camden Catholic during her 20 years as the head of the music department, brought the performing arts at Camden Catholic to entirely new heights.
"The Camden Catholic theatre program, which is marked by excellence and has been a tremendous source of pride for our community for over 100 years, would be nothing without the driving force that was Sister Pauline," shared current CCHS theatre director Angela Leone Carrozzino '04. "Her work establishing a music curriculum, spring music festivals, and annual theatrical productions set us down a path on which we hope to continue for another 100 years at least. As the current director of this program, I am honored to uphold her legacy."
In 2009 CCHS inducted Sr. Pauline into its illustrious Hall of Fame for Arts & Academics. As stated in that year's Hall of Fame program:
Sister Pauline’s talent in Camden Catholic’s sphere of music seemed to be endless. In the fall she was charged with the marching band that performed at all Irish football games of her era (in 1964, the band placed second in the LaSalle Marching Band competition). In cold winter months she was consumed by the plays, which over her 20-year service to the school, are said to have added upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars to school coffers. My Fair Lady, in 1965, was a $50,000 contributor and the only play in school history to be rerun in the spring. Then, there were Sister Pauline’s Spring Music Festivals, featuring the concert band and chorus. After Sister established a music curriculum for teaching music theory, the Middle States Evaluation Association labeled it as one of the best departments in the school.
For the 100th Anniversary of Spring Musicals in 2022, Sister Pauline was featured in the commemorative program for the invaluable contributions she made to the performing arts program at CCHS:
When reflecting on the school's rich history of spring musicals, one cannot help but note the invaluable contributions of Sister Mary Pauline Kuntne.
She is accredited with many of the plays dating back to the old days in the Lyceum auditorium in Camden and many of the first productions performed in the Cherry Hill building's theater — which was designed by Sister herself! Her theatrical touch was all over those productions: the orchestra, chorus, set and lighting designs, costume and backdrop rentals... even the ad book.
Sister Pauline arrived at Camden Catholic in the fall of 1952 having earned degrees in music, instrumental music, music education and philosophy. She brought a love of music that was shared in a multitude of ways with students and staff during the course of her 20-year tenure. What began a small music department located in a closet in an adjacent building from the school in Camden was transformed by Sister Pauline to the regionally renowned performing arts program we know today.
She always made sure her productions were second to none. She would travel as far as New York City to rent costumes and props, a tradition that continues today. In 1965, the CCHS production of My Fair Lady raised $50,000 and was the only play in school history to be rerun in the spring by popular demand.
After Sister established a music curriculum for teaching music theory, the Middle States Evaluation Association labeled it as one of the best departments in the school. Sister Pauline's Spring Music Festivals, featuring the concert band and chorus, were also massively successful. Sister was a major force in making sure the annual Spring Music Festival went on just weeks after the fire that ruined most of the arts building on April 17, 1960, thus giving new meaning to the mantra, "The show must go on." She courageously returned to the old building, sifting through water up to her waist to salvage instruments.
According to Sister Pauline, "No one could keep the 'Fighting Irish' down." She described that concert as a "tissue moment" as the audience was extremely emotional after the recent fire.
The reputation of Camden Catholic grew during her time in large part because of the development of the music curriculum and the level of excellence in performances that became the standard for CCHS theater productions even to this day. It is estimated that within her 20-year service to the school, Sister Pauline added over hundreds of thousands of dollars to school coffers.
Sister went on to even greater achievements in community service after she left Camden Catholic. She began a career in nursing, which eventually led to a position as Director of Prevention Services with the Passaic County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Inc. She got her nursing degree at Atlantic County College in 1978, started as a primary nurse in Atlantic City Medical Center Mainland Division, advanced to the oncology unit, then to the surgical unit. In 1982-83, Sister was charge nurse for Straight and Narrow at Mount Carmel Hospital in Paterson, then director of health/nursing at Emmaus House, Perth Amboy.
Along with these many achievements, she shared with CCHS in 2022 that she "left her heart at Camden Catholic." Sister Pauline was an inspiration for hundreds of students who played, acted and marched under her direction.