Aston, PA—Sister Patricia Ellen Cosgrove, OSF (formerly Sister Laboure) died in Assisi House on September 18. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 63 years. Sister Patricia was born in Baltimore, Maryland where she was a member of St. Joseph Parish and a graduate of the Catholic High School of Baltimore. She entered the congregation in 1949 and professed her first vows in 1952. Sister Patricia Ellen earned a BS in Nursing from St. Mary’s and a MSN in Psychiatric Mental Health from the Catholic University in Washington, DC. She ministered primarily in healthcare. In 1979 Sister Pat spent three months in service to the American Red Cross in a relief center on the Thailand-Cambodian border. Sister Patricia said she felt, “called to respond from the moment I saw those people on television.”
Sister Patricia ministered for 18 years in the Diocese of Wilmington, both at St. Francis Hospital (1959-1961, 1976-1983) and at St. Martin’s Barn, a food pantry and thrift shop in Ridgely, Maryland (1991-2000).
Sister Patricia spent 12 years in the Diocese of Harrisburg in healthcare at St. Joseph Hospital/Health Ministries in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1962-1972, 2000-2002). In addition, she ministered for nine years at St. Joseph Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania (1972-1976, 1984-1989); two years at the Friendship Center in Williamsburg, Virginia (1989-1991); and one year at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey (1961-1962). Early in her profession Sister Patricia spent two years in education ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Bethesda, Maryland (1951-1953).
Sister Patricia ministered for 17 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She was a student at St. Mary’s Hospital from 1953-1959 and served as a volunteer in the congregational motherhouse, Our Lady of Angels Convent from 2004-2009. She became a resident of Assisi House in 2009 and served in prayer ministry until her death.
All services will be held in Assisi House, 600 Red Hill Road, Aston, Pennsylvania, 19014 on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M. followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial at will be at 11 A.M. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Patricia is survived by her nieces and nephews, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
