Aston, PA — Sister Mary Lonergan, OSF, (formerly Sister Mary Aidan), 87, died on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 66 years. Born Mary Bernadette Lonergan in Ballylooby, Cahir, County Tipperary, Ireland, Sister Mary was a member of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish. She entered the congregation in 1958 and professed her first vows in 1961. She earned a BS in Mathematics from Marylhurst University in Oregon, an MA in Mathematics and Educational Psychology from Stanford University in California, a certificate in Applied Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and a graduate diploma in Humanities from the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland. She ministered in education, spiritual formation, pastoral care, and peace ministry.

Sister Mary began her ministry in Washington State, teaching for one year at St. Charles School in Tacoma and for two years at St. Charles School in Spokane. She continued her teaching ministry in Oregon, teaching at Central Cahtolic High School and Blessed Sacrament in Portland and serving as principal for two years at Sacred Heart Academy in Klamath Falls.

Answering the call to be a missionary, Sister Mary ministered for fourteen years in Zambia, Africa. She taught at Fatima Girls’ Secondary School, Mpima Major Seminary, and Caritas Convent Secondary School. Sr. Mary also spent four years in Guatemala serving in parish ministry in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché in both Playa Grande – Ixcán and Santa Cruz del Quiché.

Additional ministry in Portland, Oregon, includes two years as co-director of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Portland, six years in spiritual ministry at Franciscan Spiritual Center in Marylhurst and volunteer ministry at Rose Haven in Portland, and an additional twelve years in pastoral ministry at Rose Haven.

In 2022, Sister Mary moved to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where she served in local house ministry at Our Lady of Angels Convent. In 2026, she moved to Canticle Hall in Aston, where she served in local house ministry until her death.

All funeral services and burial will take place in Ireland, with the Funeral Mass celebrated on Saturday, October 31, at 1 P.M. Ireland time (9 A.M. ET) at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Burncourt, Co. Tipperary, and will be livestreamed. Sister Mary is survived by her sister Kathleen Lynch; her sister-in-law, Margaret Lonergan; more than a dozen nieces and nephews; and 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 a more personal write-up on Sister Mary. Read

The livestream will begin on Saturday, October 31 at 9:00 A.M. ET. View