Two Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who previously served in the Paterson Diocese, were among 11 jubilarians of their religious community honored in Our Lady of Angels Chapel in Aston, Penn., on June 8 for celebrating 50 to 70 years of religious profession in 2025. More than 150 community members and their companions joined the celebration.
The two jubilarians who previously served in Paterson were Sister Frances Acton, formerly Sister St. William, and Sister Mary Rita Paratore, formerly Sister M. Rita of Crucifix, who both marked 70 years.
The 11 jubilarians represent a total of 750 years of service across a wide range of ministries, including education, healthcare, childcare, social services, prayer ministry, parish and diocesan ministry, congregational service, and eldercare. Their ministry work has extended across 14 states and 24 dioceses—and beyond the United States to Africa, Puerto Rico, and Ireland.
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Sister Acton previously ministered in the diocese in administration at St. Francis Convent in Ringwood.
Sister Paratore, previously ministered as a teacher, religious education director, and principal at St. Catherine of Bologna School in Ringwood; as a teacher at St. Francis School in the Haskell neighborhood of Wanaque; as novice director and superior general for the congregation at Mount St. Francis Convent in Ringwood; as administrator of St. Joseph Residence in Ringwood; as program director of the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Ringwood; and as a volunteer at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in the Hewitt neighborhood of West Milford. In 1955, she entered the Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood. This congregation later merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia is a community of about 265 Catholic women religious who live a Gospel way of life in community and uphold a tradition of loving God and fostering relationships through loving service. They live the Gospel in the prophetic spirit of Francis of Assisi and their foundress, Mother Francis Bachmann. They commit themselves to a life of contemplation, poverty, and humility and direct their personal and corporate resources to the promotion of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
Florence Smith is the director of communications and executive director of services for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
