Posted July 25, 2024

Sister Agnes St. Joseph Bresnen, OSF, 97, died in Assisi House on Thursday, July 25, 2024. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 75 years. Sister Agnes was born Lois Ann Bresnen in Trenton, New Jersey, where she was a member of Holy Angels Parish and attended Central High School.  She entered the congregation in 1946 and professed her first vows in 1949.  She earned a BA in English from Neumann University (then Our Lady of Angels College).  She ministered primarily in education.

Sister Agnes St. Joseph ministered for over 57 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  She taught at All Saints School and St. Mary of the Assumption School in Philadelphia, as well as, St. Stanislaus School, Lansdale; St. Mary School, Schwenksville; St. Ignatius School, Yardley; and St. Aloysius School, Pottstown.  In 2022, Sister Agnes moved to Assisi House, the sisters’ retirement residence in Aston, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

In the Diocese of Harrisburg, Sister Agnes St. Joseph spent 12 years volunteering at St. Anne Retirement Community, St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, and in local house ministry for the Sisters of St. Francis all in Lancaster.

Additional ministry included teaching and serving in childcare for five years at St. Mary Home in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the Fall River Diocese. She also taught for one year at St. Mary Magdalen School in Lost Creek in the Allentown Diocese.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M. followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 A.M. Internment of Ashes will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Agnes St. Joseph is survived by her sister JoAnn Koval, her brother and sister-in-law, Joseph and Kathleen Bresnen, her many 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.