A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Feb. 17 in the chapel of the Monastery of St. Clare, Chesterfield for Poor Clare Sister Frances Vass, who died Feb. 11 in Cooper Medical Center, Camden. She was 77.
Sister Frances was born in Abington, Pa., and her family moved to Florida when she was four years old. Although she and her siblings were raised Catholic, they were not baptized until they were in high school. About a month before her high school graduation, she was confirmed and it was then she realized her calling to religious life. Two years later following a pilgrimage to Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France with the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima in 1967, Sister Frances felt it was to the hidden, cloistered life that to which she was being called.
Sister Frances entered Christ The King Monastery of St. Clare in Delray Beach, Fla., Aug. 22, 1969; made her first profession of vows March 25, 1972, and her final vows Feb. 2, 1978. Sister Fran transferred to the Monastery of St. Clare, Chesterfield, in 2010.
In addition to regular duties in the monastery, Sister Frances served on the monastery council and as novice directress for new members. She also served for nine years on the Holy Name Federation Council. She was proud to be a member of the “Sisters in Song” National Choir and participated in three recordings in California in 1996 and 2000. The proceeds from the recordings went to the National Retirement Fund for Religious.
Sister Frances was the daughter of the late Gustav F. and Frances Detwiler Vass. She is survived by her twin brother Gustav F. Vass of Plantation, Fla., and a sister Sandra LaBonte of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Burial of cremains was in the Monastery cemetery. Memorial donations made to the Monastery of St Clare, 150 White Pine Rd., Chesterfield, N.J. 08515.