Posted June 15, 2026

Aston, PA—Sister Marie Catherine Spellman, OSF, 96, died in Assisi House on June 7, 2026. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 70 years. Born Rita Helen Spellman in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, and a graduate of the now-closed Holy Trinity High School in Roxbury. She entered the congregation in 1953 and professed first vows in 1956. She earned a B.S. in Education from Villanova University, and ministered both as an educator and in healthcare, dedicating roughly half of her years to each.

Sister Marie Catherine began her life of ministry as a teacher in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, first at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Morton, and then Nativity BVM in Media, Pennsylvania. Later, she would spend many years working in hospitals within the archdiocese, serving 15 years at St. Mary Hospital in Langhorne, and then five years as a coordinator at St. Agnes Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the Archdiocese of Boston, Sister Marie Catherine spent eight years teaching, first at Our Lady of Assumption School in Lynnfield, and then at Blessed Sacrament School in Walpole, Massachusetts.

Sister Marie Catherine also spent 15 years ministering in the Diocese of Trenton, with almost a decade of those years as a teacher—first at St. Anthony School in Trenton and then at Corpus Christi School in Willingboro, New Jersey. She then began a new chapter in healthcare, serving for seven years as an assistant patient service manager at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton.

In 2006, Sister Marie Catherine moved to Assisi House, the congregational retirement home in Aston, Pennsylvania, where she served her fellow sisters and others in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 A.M. Burial will follow in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Marie Catherine is survived by her beloved nieces, 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.