Sister Francis Marie (Mary Margaret) Lanasa, age 93, died at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland on January 16, 2016. She was born on May 19, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland, one of twelve children born to Francis and Marie (Brady) Lanasa.
Sister Francis Marie joined the Daughters of Charity on April 7, 1946 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In 1947 Sister Francis Marie was sent on her first mission to St. Vincent Home in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania where she took care of orphans. In her next several missions she served as teacher: St. Paul School in Portsmouth, Virginia (1949-1956); St. Catherine Labouré School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1956-1959); Miraculous Medal School in Greensboro, North Carolina (1959); St. Joseph’s Villa in Richmond, Virginia (1959-1961); St. Mary School in Troy, New York (1961-1963); and St. Joseph School of Religion in Oneida, New York (1963-1967). After this assignment, Sister Francis Marie studied at St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1969. She then continued her teaching for one more year at St. Joseph School of Religion in Oneida. Following this mission, she was a teacher at St. Michael School in Overlea, Maryland (1969-1974); St. Charles School in Pikesville, Maryland (1974-1977); Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg ((1977-1982); St. Ann’s Infant Home in Hyattsville, Maryland (1984-1986), and St. Dominic School in Baltimore ((1986-1991). For the next year she served as a hostess at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg. In 1992 she was missioned to Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg where she assisted in the Villa Gift Shop. From 2003 until her death Sister Francis Marie served in the Ministry of Prayer. Sister Francis Marie was preceded in death by her parents and eleven siblings. Her sister, Sister Alice, also a Daughter of Charity, died in 2002. Sister Francis Marie is survived by nieces, nephews, cousins, and her Sisters in Community. A wake service will be held on Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 pm in the Villa Chapel in Emmitsburg.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, January 22 at 11:00 am in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Emmitsburg, followed by burial in Sacred Heart Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Sister Francis Marie’s name to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, Saint Louis, Missouri 63108.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home in Emmitsburg.