Supplements

current ISSUE

sister frances mcdonagh, osu dies nov. 22

MAPLE MOUNT, Ky. — Sister Mary Frances McDonagh, 87, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph, died Nov. 22 at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 64th year of religious life.

A native of Trienbawn, County Galway, Ireland, she was an Ursuline Sister of Belleville before the
merger of that community with the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph in October 2005.

She entered the community in England, coming to Belleville in 1954.

Sister Frances loved people, and she made friends wherever she went, always greeting others with her warm smile and her gentle Irish accent.

Sister Frances taught at St. Regis School in East St. Louis, 1955-56 and 1961-62, at Holy Childhood of Jesus School, Mascoutah, 1962-76, 1977-78, and 1979-97, and at Our Lady Queen of Peace School, Belleville, 1978-79.
She was also a registered nurse.

In 1978-79, she served as assistant vocation director for the Diocese of Belleville. She served on her community’s leadership team several times. She retired in 1997 in Belleville, where she continued to serve as treasurer for the Ursuline Sisters Auxiliary and Friends Club. She moved to Maple Mount in 2006.

Survivors include two sisters, Sister Mary Patrick McDonagh, Maple Mount; and Eileen McDonagh, along with a sister-in-law, Delia McDonagh, both of County Galway, Ireland; nieces and nephews, and the members of her religious community.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 28 at Mount Saint Joseph, with burial in the convent cemetery.

(If you would like to share memories of Sr. Frances, please email them to cathnews@bellevillemessenger.org and we will include them here.)