Age 87
Inspired by her motto, Agape, Sister Francesca possessed a deep spirituality, openness, and ability to see God in everyone she encountered.
At the age of 18, she entered the Presentation Sisters and ministered at St. Colman’s Home in Watervliet, New York, teaching children with special needs. In 1977, she transferred to the Sisters of Mercy and spent the rest of her life devoted to their charism.
She earned an associate degree in education from Maria College in Albany, New York, a bachelor’s degree in education from Russell Sage College in Troy; New York, and a master’s degree in theology from St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont.
Fran’s ministries were varied and included teaching in New York at St. Ambrose School in Latham, Sacred Heart School in Albany, St. Paul’s in Schenectady and Catholic Central High School in Troy. One of the co-creators of Bridge Center in Schenectady, New York, a rehabilitation center for people with addictions, Fran also served as program director at Arbor House and as co-director of North Country Ministry in North Warren County, New York. As parish life director, she modeled a form of pastoral leadership enriching the parishes in the Northern Points Cluster (Blessed Sacrament, Hague; St. John the Baptist, Chestertown; and St. James, North Creek). She also served for six years as parish life director at St. James Parish in North Creek, New York.
One of her greatest sources of spiritual nourishment was her time spent in nature. An avid hiker, snow shoe-er and amateur naturalist, she was nourished spiritually outdoors. She found God in the call of the birds, cloud formations, rocks, moss, ocean sunrises, the moon and the mountains. Frannie climbed the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks, the 35 highest peaks in the Catskills, the Presidential Range in New Hampshire and the highest peaks in Vermont.