Sister Frances Mary (Werland), CSC

Sister Frances Mary, CSC
(Barbara Ann Werland)

July 28, 1936 – April 1, 2026
 

Entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross from Ventura, California on September 7, 1954
Initial Profess of Vows on August 15, 1957

If there is a long procession waiting at heaven’s gate, Sister Frances Mary (Werland) will be found talking to the “street people” waiting their turn. She will also be trying to straighten the line. With other fools for Christ, as described by St. Paul in I Cor. 4: 9-13, she might be seen there standing at the rear. The Stockton, California press in 1985 called those folks she served waiting outside the parish hall at Saint Mary’s Dining Room, “bums, derelicts, winos, drug addicts, and illegals.” Sister Frances Mary was more comfortable with those without shelter, wearing shabby clothing, than she was with civil authorities worried about neighborhood blight. She could have exercised more diplomacy at City Hall making a case to the Stockton Planning Commission that a feeding center should not be shut down after 30 years-but she was as blunt as Saint John the Baptist crying out for justice. However, she did impress several businessmen by how well she managed the operations, funds, and supplies for the center. Eventually a new center with better facilities was established on a donated parcel of land in another part of the city.

Barbara Ann Werland was a California native born in Santa Barbara on July 28, 1936. Barbara was one of three girls and one boy born to Manley Otto Werland and Frances Mary Cooney Werland. Mr. Werland originally came from the Gulf Coast of Texas, hence his nickname “Tex.” Mrs. Werland came from San Francisco and the couple made their home first in Santa Barbara and then nearby Ventura. Tex worked at the local naval base as a shop foreman. It was in Ventura where Barbara and her siblings attended Holy Cross School staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Sisters Marie Ave (Gorman) and M. Bernardis (Purcell) were her favorite teachers while she described the other sisters as “good teachers, kind, wonderful, and friendly.” Upon graduation in 1950 she continued with Holy Cross sisters at the Academy of Saint Catherine in Ventura where she was inspired to a religious vocation by Sister M. Charlotte (Ramsay) and Sister M. Zoe (Reinhart).  As principal, Sister Zoe recognized that the senior girl had “a more mature outlook and spirituality than most girls her age. With her ability in oral and written expression she ought to be an asset in the teaching field.” The fact that Barbara’s home life was “fun, happy and strict” made her attraction to the convent upon graduation even more natural. She also brought a strong work ethic, having made money as a baby-sitter, playground instructor and swimming instructor during high school. She entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross at Notre Dame, Indiana in September 1954.

Upon reception of the holy habit in August 1955 she received her mother’s name, Frances Mary, and chose to keep it throughout her religious life. After three years of formation and study, Sister Frances Mary made initial profession of vows on August 15, 1957. As Sister Zoe had recommended, Sister Frances Mary was prepared for educational ministry by teaching elementary and junior high students in Holy Cross sponsored schools in Arizona, California and Nevada supervised by a master teacher. “The kids loved her as a teacher, especially the boys,” according to one of her supervisors. In 1966 Sister received her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon. One of her favorite missions was at St. Bernard’s School in Oakland, California from 1975 to 1980. After teaching during the day, she was energized by attending neighborhood meetings at night and on weekends which promoted civil actions on behalf of the urban poor and underserved. Sister Frances Mary’s gift was her adaptability. Her transfer to Modesto took her from the city to California’s Central Valley at Saint Stanislaus School in Modesto and eventually to Stockton in 1984 where she worked in the city’s downtown area at Saint Mary’s Dining Room. Sister Frances Mary served over 30 years in Stockton in direct ministry with the poor. This ministry took her to parishes, homes, special needs schools, jails, and city streets. Sister worked with peace and justice groups, with lay women and other congregations of sisters. Frances was asked how she was able to sustain such passion and commitment. She said simply, “I just took each day as it came.”

Sister Frances Mary had chronic health issues, but a serious injury sustained in an accident precipitated her retirement and move to Saint Mary’s Convent, Notre Dame, Indiana in March 2018. She livened up community discussions, sharing her strong convictions on commitments of the Congregation and its corporate stands. She continued to take each day as it came, devoted to a full-time ministry of prayer at the motherhouse. Sister Frances Mary died unexpectedly in Saint Mary’s Convent on the evening of April 1, 2026 at 89 years old, of which 68 years she lived as a consecrated religious as a Sister of the Holy Cross. Her death came during Holy Week, the night before Holy Thursday and the solemnities leading to Easter Sunday. Her gospel values and vowed life appeared to make her a fool on Christ’s account, but she now knows fully the wisdom of God (I Cor. 4:10).

Services will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto on Thursday, April 16, 2026, with visitation at 9:30 a.m. Prayers and memento at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Mass of the Resurrection. See Sisters of the Holy Cross website for details. Kaniewski Funeral Homes is assisting.

--Sister Catherine Osimo, CSC and Sister Patricia Riley, CSC

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