Aston, PA—Sister Marie Cecilia Irwin (89) died in Assisi House on August 17, 2020. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 69 years. Sister Marie Cecilia was born Elizabeth Anne Irwin in Trenton, New Jersey, where she was a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish and a graduate of St. Mary Cathedral High School. She entered the congregation in 1949 and professed her first vows in 1951.  She earned a Bachelors of Nursing and a Masters of Nursing Education both from the Catholic University.  She ministered primarily in nursing and hospital administration.

Sister Marie Cecilia began her career at St. Joseph Hospital in Reading in the Allentown Diocese where she served for 15 years—first as a student nurse and then later as a registered nurse.

Sister Marie Cecilia ministered for 20 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore where she served as president of St. Joseph Hospital and also served as a consultant for St. Joseph Medical Center.

Sister Marie Cecilia also ministered for 12 years in the Diocese of Trenton where she ministered as administrator at Morris Hall in Lawrenceville. At St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton she served initially as assistant to the president and later as vice president of mission and ministry.

Additional ministry work brought her to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia where she served new and expectant mothers at Mother Bachmann Maternity Center in Bensalem for six years and served in local house ministry at Visitation Convent for two.  She also served on the Board of Trustees for Neumann University and as a chairperson for development for the congregation. In 2014 Sister Marie Cecilia moved to Assisi House where she served in prayer ministry until her death.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Tuesday, August 25, and will be private. Internment of Ashes will be followed by burial in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Marie Cecilia is survived by her sister, Kathleen Maiorano, her nieces and nephew, 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.

Read about her ministry at the Mother Bachmann Maternity Center  in the Spring 2008 Good News. Click here!

Click here to read a nice tribute article in the Baltimore Sun.

Read Sr. Marie Cecilia’s memorial write-up.