Sr. M. Frances Rose Kregg, SFP

August 7, 1931 – August 14, 2020

A true daughter of St. Francis, Sr. Frances Rose saw God’s presence in every person and in all of creation. In the footsteps of Mother Frances, she was a sister to those experiencing poverty, and God’s love for all was the Root and Source of her deep love for all people, for nature, and especially, for her beloved birds. 
Frances Rose was born to Oliver and Esther Hess Kregg on August 7, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan, where she was baptized Carrie Virginia. She lived most of her early life in Maryland and was an only child. Little is known of her life during this time and Frances Rose rarely spoke of her childhood.

Graduating Elementary School in 1947 and High School four years later, Carrie entered the Novitiate of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor on August 22, 1947 and made her 1st Profession of Vows on May 3, 1950, receiving the name Frances Rose. Her Perpetual Profession of Vows was made on May 3, 1955. Subsequently, she ministered in a variety of places and positions, including Dietary Aid, Sacristan, Seamstress, Nursing Assistant at St. Mary Hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Margaret Mary Hospital, as a Pastoral Minister and most recently, after she retired, as a Volunteer at a Nursing Home and a local bird shop that is sensitive to rescuing and caring for birds.

It was during her years in ministry that Frances Rose grew into her true self. She acknowledged that each ministry taught her how to pray and grow closer to God. Working in the sewing room for many years, she learned a deeper meaning of independence and growth, and the solitude conducive to quiet and prayer. As a Nursing Assistant, she developed a special love for the sick and the poor. She found the work physically exhausting, but so grace-filled.

Sr. Frances Rose was a member of a pastoral team at the Church of the Assumption in Walnut Hills, near the center of Cincinnati for 30 years. Here she worked with other volunteers in the parish to alleviate the suffering of the poor. Sr. Frances Rose became aware of both the human and societal issues that created poverty and kept people locked in the system. “The biggest need I see is confidence and faith in God’s protection. The poor experience gratitude for the assistance they receive, but they have little else. Many homeless people have jobs, but it is not enough to lift them from poverty. They don’t know how to cope; they don’t have the opportunities to change their condition or educational level; they don’t have even a little personal space. They experience serious depression, low self-esteem and discouragement, and their health fails. Transportation is a big handicap for the elderly and the ill, and is almost impossible for the poor. They are also unfamiliar with the resources and funding available.”

It is into this great swell of pain and poverty that Sr. Frances Rose poured her life energy and her spirit. She worked tirelessly for and with the people. She would get food from downtown and repack it so it would be presentable for those who were hungry. She visited nursing homes and the elderly in their homes, giving comfort and cheer to the lonely and hurting. Often she drove someone to a doctor’s appointment or intervened for others who needed help shopping or getting to the hospital. And as she interacted with the people, they told Sister Frances Rose their stories of sadness, heartache and suffering … and she took their pain to prayer: the man whose brother committed suicide; the woman whose son was stabbed to death. Once she felt inspired to make an unplanned visit to a woman in a nursing home and brought her Holy Communion. Quite unexpectedly, the woman died quietly the next day.
The people in the parish readily recognized Sr. Frances Rose’s love and service. “Sr. Rose works hard at Assumption’s Pantry. We know that she must get tired, but she never shows it as she listens quietly to those who come to our door for help. She sends them on their way with a smile, a kind word and quiet humor.” “She contributes her talents to spread beauty through gardening, photography and painting with water colors, and she is a special friend to small animals and birds.”

Sr. Frances Rose retired to St. Clare Campus in 2006, but continued to volunteer at Lincoln Crawford Care Center and The Bird Shoppe. As her life was coming full circle, so were her energies and her love for God’s creatures. She cared for those wounded in body and soul, both human and bird, and assisted in healing; and when that was no longer possible, in preparation for birth into Life.

Sister Frances Rose died as she lived, quietly in the early hours of August 14, 2020. Because of the corona virus pandemic, only the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor will be able to attend her funeral and burial. It would not be surprising to find the sky filled with birds and her grave visited by small animals in the days that follow.

Written by: Sr. Jo-Ann Jackowski, SFP

Sr. Frances Rose Kregg—Bird Songs

God speaks to me in melodies
with tones so sweet and clear,
In the echoes of His songbirds
He tells me He is near.

“Stop a while and listen, Child,
there’s music in the air,
Allow its songs to bring you hope —
I’m with you, everywhere. 
Of all the beauty in My world
I watch the sparrow, too,
Imagine then, my precious Child,
how deep My love for you.”  

The following are some testimonials from our Sisters who remember with affection Sr. M. Frances Rose Kregg:

Sr. Frances Rose was a private person, she seemed most comfortable in the background of life. However, in slowly getting to know her over time in recent years, I discovered she was a person with a quick dry wit, strong willed, bearing an attractive simplicity toward life and having an unending love for God’s creation. May she know God’s fullness! – Sr Marilyn Trowbridge, SFP

What I learned from writing the biography of Sr. Frances Rose: We are women who are so much more than who we are the last 10-15 years of our lives. Each of us has a history and depth of suffering and love that we carry with ourselves. These are the seeds that enable us, with the help of God and others, to grow into women who assist others in growth, healing, and service. We are midwives (of the healing love of God) whether we work in the health profession or not! Blessings, – Sr. Jo-Ann Jackowski, SFP