ASTON, Pa. — Sister Anna Mae Coll, formerly Sister James Bernard, died in Assisi House on Jan. 20. She was 98 and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 77 years.
A Baltimore native, Sister Anna Mae entered the congregation in 1944 and professed her first vows in 1947. She ministered primarily in elementary education. She spent 20 years in the Diocese of Wilmington as a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle and St. John the Beloved schools, both in Wilmington. She also served in local house ministry working with the community fund while at Our Lady of Fatima Convent in New Castle.
Sister Anna Mae also ministered in the archdioceses of Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. She had served in prayer and hospitality ministry at Assisi House since moving there in 2010.
Services will be Jan. 24 at Assisi House and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 a.m., followed by a viewing. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11. Interment of her ashes will be at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Donations in Sister Anna Mae’s name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
