Aston, PA — Sister Francis Clare Verderosa, OSF (formerly Sister Francis Clare of the Blessed Sacrament), died in St. Joseph Residence in Ringwood, New Jersey, on September 18. She was sixty-four years of age and had been professed for forty-four years. Sister Francis Clare (Cecilia Ann Verderosa) was born in New York City. She attended St. Michael Elementary School in Flushing, New York, and Our Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, New York. In 1960 she entered the Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood, a congregation which later merger with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. She earned a B.S. and an M.A. in Administration, both from Seton Hall University. Sister Francis Clare ministered primarily in elementary education, both as a teacher and as a principal. She also ministered in various roles within her congregation, serving at various times as a member of the congregational council and as a member of the formation team.

Sister Francis Clare ministered for thirty-nine years in the Diocese of Paterson. She taught at St. Catherine School in Ringwood (1962-1964, 1968-1970) and returned there from 1997-2003 to serve as assistant principal. She was principal of St. Francis School in Haskell from 1970-1979 and again from 1984-1989. She ministered in congregational leadership for the Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood, serving as Secretary/Treasurer from 1980-1984 and as General Coordinator from 1989-1997. She returned to Mt. St. Francis in 2003 and remained there until her death.

Sister Francis Clare also taught at Assumption School in Emerson, New Jersey (1979-1980), and Holy Family School in Brooklyn, New York (1967-1968).

The viewing will be held at Mt. St. Francis Convent, 474 Sloatsburg Road in Ringwood on Wednesday, September 20, from 7-9 P.M. and on Thursday, September 21, from 2-4 P.M. and 7-9 P.M. There will be a Wake Service at 8 P.M. Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Catherine of Bologna Church, 112 Erskine Road (corner of Erskine Road and Skyline Drive) on Friday, September 22 at 12 noon. Burial will be in God’s Acre Cemetery on the grounds of Mt. St. Francis. Sister Francis Clare is survived by her sister, Pamela Richards of Wilton, Connecticut, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.