Sister Leonora Juliani, OSF, (formerly Sister Marie Rita), died in Assisi House on her 95 birthday, July 10, 2024. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 71 years. Sister Leonora was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of St. Mary the Eternal Parish and a graduate of Hallahan High School. She entered the congregation in 1950 and professed her first vows in 1953. She earned a bachelor’s in education from Mount St. Mary University and ministered primarily in education.
Sister Leonora ministered for 41 years in the Diocese of Wilmington, where she taught at Immaculate Conception School in Elkton and St. Paul School in Wilmington. She also served as principal at St. Anthony School, Wilmington for three years. In 1980, she began serving as the librarian at Corpus Christi School in Elsmere/Wilmington, where she worked until 2009.
In the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Sister Leonora ministered for 14 years in education, teaching at several Baltimore area schools including: Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, St. Paul School, Saints Philp & James School, St. Joseph School, and St. Elizabeth School. She also spent two years in the Washington, DC, diocese at St. Bernadette School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Sister Leonora ministered for 15 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where she served the congregation as a volunteer in the archives and in local house ministry at Our Lady of Angels Convent. In 2021, she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.
All services will be held in Assisi House on Wednesday, July 17, 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. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Leonora is survived by her sisters, Rosemarie Flemming and Lucy Roley, her nieces and nephews, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
