08/19/2010
year:
2010
Aston, PA-The weekend of August 7-8 was a joyful celebration of sisterhood as the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia gathered in the chapel of our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston, Pennsylvania, to witness the renewal of vows of Sister Rose Mary Eve Holter and the perpetual profession of Sister Patricia Kerezsi. Sister Rose Mary Eve renewed her vows during the 9 A.M. Eucharistic Liturgy which opened the sisters’ annual Gathering Day on Saturday, Aug. 7. Sister Patricia professed her perpetual vows at the 11 A.M. Eucharist on Sunday, in the presence of approximately 300 of her Franciscan sisters, family, friends, and coworkers.
In her welcoming remarks at the beginning of Sunday’s liturgy, Sister Marijane Hresko, OSF, who lives in local community with Sister Patty, noted that “for some people religious life points the way that best calls them to their finest and most spirit-filled selves.” Patty and Rose Mary Eve’s smiling faces, supported by the prayers, songs, and blessings of the gathered community, affirmed their spirit-filled witness to the message of Sunday’s gospel passage: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Luke 12:34). Sister Marijane recalled how “Sister Patty has found her treasure in living the gospel according to our Franciscan way of life.”
A native of Aston, Pennsylvania, Sister Patricia is the daughter of Louis (deceased) and Patricia Kerezsi. A graduate of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Sister Patricia earned a B.S. in Education from West Chester University and an M.S. in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Neumann University in Aston. Prior to her entrance into the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Sister Patricia taught at St. Francis DeSales School in Lenni. More recently, she ministered as a counselor at St. Joseph Family Center in Spokane, Washington. Her current ministry as a counselor for the Ministry of Caring in Wilmington, Delaware, brings her much joy and fulfillment.
Sisters Patricia and Rose Mary Eve join the Sisters of St. Francis who were founded in 1855 in Philadelphia by Mother Mary Francis (Maria Anna Bachmann) under the guidance of St. John Neumann, then Bishop of Philadelphia. From its beginnings, the congregation ministered to the varying needs of God’s people wherever those needs existed-in education, in healthcare, in ministering with the immigrant, the elderly, and the orphaned. Today- more than 150 years later-the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia continue to live out Mother Francis’ vision. The congregation’s more than 550 members minister in approximately 22 states as well as in the Caribbean, Ireland, and Africa.
Although changing circumstances in society and the Church lead them to find new ways of proclaiming the Good News of God’s faithful presence in the world, their mission has remained constant: to live the Gospel message in the unique spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, faithful to the vision of Mother Francis Bachmann. They live their commitment to “take the necessary risks to be a healing, compassionate presence in our violent world, especially with women, children, and those who have no voice.” Accompanying the sisters on this journey are the Franciscan Companions in Mission, more that 400 lay women and men who share in and live out the spirit and mission of the congregation within their own vocation and lifestyle.
