Posted April 29, 2023

Sister Christopher Marie Wagner, OSF, 76, died in Assisi House on April 20, 2023. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 56 years. Sister Christopher was born Loretta Florence in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was a member of St. Anthony Parish and a graduate of The Catholic High School of Baltimore. She entered the congregation in 1964 and professed her first vows in 1967. She earned a BA in French from Neumann University (then Our Lady of Angels College) and a MA in fine arts from the Catholic University of America. She ministered primarily in education and art ministry.

Sister Christopher ministered for two years in the Diocese of Washington, D.C., teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Bethesda. She then moved to the Archdiocese of Baltimore where she taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School for four years before returning to her alma mater, The Catholic High School of Baltimore, where she taught art for seven years.

In her over 41 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Sister Christopher taught art at Neumann University for 15 years where, in 1994, she received the Growth Scholarship Award. She then became an artist in residence at Our Lady of Angels Convent where she restored the stained-glass windows in Our Lady of Angels Chapel and designed and fabricated the Blessed Sacrament Chapel window and lancets as well as the sacristy lancets and sanctuary lamp. Sister Christopher’s additional ministries include teaching art at Assisi House, conducting art workshops for the Franciscan Spiritual Center, and serving as vocation minister for her congregation. In 2023 she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

Services were held in Assisi House on ­­­­Friday, April 28 followed by a Christian Wake Service and viewing. Mass of Christian Burial was at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston.

Sister Christopher is survived by her sister, Kathleen Harryman; her brothers, Michael, Walter, and Timothy Wagner; 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.