Sister M. Francis Paul O'Sullivan, IHM
Sister M. Francis Paul O'Sullivan, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died suddenly on Wednesday, July 26, 1989, while visiting relatives in Ireland.
She was born on July 28, 1909 in County Cork, Ireland, and given the name Brigid. She was daughter of the late Daniel and Margaret O'Mahony O'Sullivan. She entered the IHM Congregation on May 2, 1926, was received into the novitiate on August 15, 1926, and made profession of her vows on August 15, 1928.
Sister Francis Paul served as a teacher of intermediate grades at the following local schools: Sacred Heart of Mary School in Jermyn, PA; Epiphany School in Sayre, PA; St. Michael's School for Boys in Hoban Heights, PA; as well as schools in New York, Maryland, and Connecticut.
Sister Francis Paul also served as a math tutor at St. John the Evangelist School in Binghamton, New York.
She was preceded in death by three brothers and a sister.
She is survived by three sisters, Bernie O'Sullivan of New York, NY, Ellen Pat O'Sullivan of Dorchester, MA, and Tess Carpenter of Wembley, England, nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Tuesday, July 31 with Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in the Marian Convent chapel. Interment will follow at St. Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow, Pennsylvania. Friends may call at the Marian Convent on Monday afternoon or evening.
Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509.
The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary benefited from the efforts to bring young women from Ireland to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Over the years a total of sixty-five young women became professed IHM religious. Their services were received as far west at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho at the IHM Academy and at St. Edward School, Twin Falls, Idaho. The southern missions witnessed their dedication in Washington, Raleigh, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was remarked that black children in some southern schools were speaking with an Irish brogue! The Sisters from Ireland also served in many locations in Pennsylvania, such as Dushore, Lock Haven, Exeter, Altoona, Pittsburgh, St. Michael's School in Hoban Heights, Cresson, Pittston, Scranton, and Williamsport. New York and Rhode Island missions also received their services.
Excerpted from The Story of the Native Irish Sisters Who Entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Scranton Pennsylvania by Sister M. Michel Keenan, IHM, 2006, p.18
