After 92 years of service, community of religious sisters leaves diocese

It was the end of an era — and the start of a new one — for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia (formerly of Ringwood) on Dec. 12. They closed their last community that served the Paterson Diocese, ending 92 years of service to the Church here.

Earlier this week, the two Sisters of St. Francis, still living in the diocese, left the convent they called home at Our Lady Queen of Peace (OLQP) Parish in the Hewitt neighborhood of West Milford. Sister Mary Rita Paratore and Sister Marie Cimino moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s motherhouse and retirement facility in Aston, Pa.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney thanked the Sisters of St. Francis for their service in Paterson and bid farewell to Sister Paratore and Sister Cimino during a Mass of Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 at OLQP. Well-wishers filled the church.

In the diocese, Sisters of St. Francis served many parishes and schools. They include the parish and former school of OLQP, the parish and former school of Mount Carmel (OLMC) in Passaic, the parish and former school of St. Catherine of Bologna in Ringwood, the parish of St. Rose of Lima in East Hanover, and the former Bayley-Ellard School in Madison. They also operated a novitiate, retirement facility, and retreat center in Ringwood.

“I will miss the people terribly. They will miss us too. We received more from them than we gave to them,” said Sister Paratore, 89. “We’re sorry to leave, but duty calls us to another challenge. We trust in God.”

Sister Paratore ministered in St. Catherine’s as a teacher and principal of the school and as director of religious education of the parish. She later served at the retreat center and as the sisters’ congregational minister. At OLQP, she volunteered in the parish office.

Sister Cimino, 92, taught mostly first grade at OLQP, St. Catherine’s, and OLMC.

The Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood were part of the Capuchin Sisters, founded in Colorado in 1912 and disbanded in 1924. Members came to serve in the Newark Archdiocese. OLMC in Passaic was the site of their motherhouse.

In 1931, 485 acres and a mansion in Ringwood were purchased, and the sisters moved their novitiate there. Later, the sisters began teaching in parish schools in Paterson, Newark, and New York.

The congregation officially changed its name to the Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood in 1967. They merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia in 2003. They have since closed the sisters’ residence and retirement facility In Ringwood.

At the Mass, Bishop Sweeney presented the two sisters at OLQP and Sister Theresa Marie Firenze, congregational minister and former St. Catherine’s principal, with a papal apostolic blessing for their years of service.

One of the Mass concelebrants, Father Kamil Stachowiak, who is OLQP’s pastor, told the two sisters, “You have left a unique and lasting mark on our lives.”

“Your wisdom, your laughter, and your experiences have enriched us in ways we can never truly measure. You’ve been our mentors, friends, and sources of inspiration, and for that, we are eternally grateful,” he said.