LINK TO MEMORIAL MASS/RECORDING
November 29, 1934 - September 27, 2024
“We must have, first of all, a true spirit of simplicity. Nothing should be more simple than the heart of a Sister of Notre Dame, which should be as transparent as a crystal, nay, clearer still, for a crystal reflects the many colors of the rainbow, whereas the heart of a Sister of Notre Dame ought to reflect one sole and unique object: God.” (Little Treatise of Perfection, page 2)
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Florence Marie Jung was the oldest of Frank and Lucille Jung’s five children. Florence loved her three brothers but was delighted when the fifth child was a little sister. Her parents passed on to all their children their deep faith, strong work ethic and the value of education. They also modeled service to those in need by opening their home to foster children.
Florence attended St. Priscilla Parish School and then continued her education at Notre Dame High School. There she met the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and was introduced to the story of their foundress, St. Julie Billiart. Florence was immediately drawn to the simplicity and joy of the community and experienced St. Julie’s deep belief in the goodness of God resonating strongly in her own experience. She began to consider a vocation to religious life. To ‘test the waters’, and with the support of her parents, she applied to the candidacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur which was located at Maryhurst in Columbus, Ohio.
The candidacy was for high school aged young women. It provided them with a structure to attend Mass daily, deepen their prayer life, experience living a quiet life, and learn some of the practices of living in a religious community. Florence was accepted into the candidacy and began living there at the beginning of her sophomore year. As a candidate, Florence continued her high school education as a student of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at St. Joseph Academy in Columbus. Her love for the Sisters and sense of God calling her to the community deepened. She filled out her application to enter the community in 1951 at the end of her junior year. She was accepted as a postulant of the community and entered February 2, 1952, at Mount Notre Dame, Reading, Ohio. Florence finished her high school education at Mount Notre Dame Academy in June 1952.
Florence entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur August 13, 1952, and received the name Sister Agnes Francis. She was known by that name for the rest of her life. As a novice, her love of the community and God deepened while she joyfully prepared to serve as a teacher. Agnes Francis was sent out to teach in January of 1954 while still a novice. Thus began forty-four and a half years teaching children full-time at various parish schools in Ohio and Illinois. Occasionally she was given a third or fourth grade class. The rest of those years found her with first and second graders. Agnes Francis was very aware of the importance of reading in the educational process. She became a reading specialist to better serve her young students. She loved watching them learn and especially loved preparing them to receive their First Communion.
Agnes Francis spent her last semester teaching full-time at St. Beatrice Parish School in Chicago. There she was offered a position for the following school year serving as St. Beatrice’s Resource Center Director and as a tutor for children needing extra help. Agnes Francis served in that role through the spring of 2009, occasionally also serving as a substitute teacher at St. Beatrice. Beginning in the fall of 2009, Agnes Francis began nine years of part-time ministry as teaching assistant, tutor and CCD teacher in various Chicago area schools and parishes. She was not new to the role of CCD teacher. For most of her religious life she had volunteered weekends and during the summers to help teach CCD in nearby parishes. She was usually given the classes preparing children for First Communion or for Reconciliation. Agnes Francis saw it as an honor to prepare young children for the sacraments. She also saw the catechetical work as mirroring St. Julie’s years of service in her home parish and St. Julie’s emphasis on teaching children what they need for life. It was an opportunity for Agnes Francis to help the children articulate the goodness of God within themselves and in the world around them.
Agnes Francis had many other volunteer ministries through the years. At Mount Notre Dame she spent summers serving as a nurse’s aide in the Sisters’ infirmary and tutoring in the Julie Billiart Reading Clinic. In Chicago she served as a clinician at De Paul University’s Reading and Learning Center. She taught CCD at a residential facility for physically challenged children, and she drove visually impaired people to retreats. During the retreats, Agnes Francis would serve as their guides in navigating the unfamiliar physical environment of the retreat house. These are only a few examples of her awareness of needs and her attempts to meet them in any way she could.
Her Sisters in community experienced her as a quiet, attentive, cheerful, gentle presence and a woman of deep prayer. She was keenly aware of those around her and cared about their well-being. Agnes Francis was an active listener. She took in the concerns of others, carrying them in prayer throughout her day. Agnes Francis took her responsibilities in community seriously from faithfully attending to her responsibilities in the local communities where she lived to participating faithfully in the governance of the community. She enjoyed community celebrations from annual jubilee celebrations to beautiful holy day liturgies and dinners to victories of favorite baseball teams. Agnes Francis loved Scrabble and played regularly with family and friends. She was a devoted Chicago Cubs fan but generous in supporting the Cincinnati Reds as long as their game wasn’t against her Cubs! Crocheting and sewing were two skills she used throughout her life. She crocheted items for other people to use, made her own clothes, and helped her Sisters when sewing was needed. Agnes Francis did not like to travel unless she could travel by car. She would have loved to have participated in a pilgrimage to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur motherhouse in Belgium and sites important in the life of St. Julie, but she could not bring herself to get on a plane. Instead, she deepened her love of Julie through reading, prayer, and enjoying other Sisters’ sharing their experiences of pilgrimage. Agnes Francis did her best to live her life simply, joyfully, and with great charity.
Her family was an important part of Agnes Francis’s life. She loved time spent with them whether it was time spent with individuals or family reunions. Agnes Francis so appreciated visits from her sister, Julie, and nieces and nephews after she joined the Mount Notre Dame Health Center Community in 2018. Their presence at her 70th jubilee celebration in particular brought her great joy. She kept them in prayer constantly with her Sisters, former students & co-workers, friends, and the needs of our world. Agnes Francis had a great devotion to Our Lady. As we gather to celebrate her life, we are reminded “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (LK 2:19), and we think of how Agnes Francis simply kept all of us in her heart, lifting us up to our good God. We give thanks to God for all the ways she made God’s goodness known to us through her life. We now lift her up in our hearts, rejoicing with her as she enters eternal life. Ah! How good is the good God!
BIO DATA
- Born November 29, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois
- Parents: Frank J. Jung (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and Lucille Geniesse (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Siblings: Leonard Jung, Ronald Jung, Norman Jung, Julie Jung Marsalek
- Baptized December 16, 1934 at Saint Viator Church, Chicago, Illinois
- Entered February 2, 1952 at Mount Notre Dame, Reading, Ohio
- First Profession: August 13, 1954
- Final Profession: August 13, 1959
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor of Science in Education from Our Lady of Cincinnati College, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1967
- Master of Arts in Reading, Cardinal Stritch, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1977
ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDED:
- 1/1954-3/1954 St. Peter Canisius Parish School, Chicago, Illinois
- 1954-1957 St. Alexander Parish School, Villa Park, Illinois
- 1957-1958 Holy Angels Parish School, Dayton, Ohio
- 1958-1964 St. Michael Parish School, Sharonville, Ohio
- 1964-1968 St. John the Apostle Parish School, Villa Park, Illinois
- 1968-1969 St. Isaac Jogues Parish School, Hinsdale, Illinois
- 1969-1970 St. Peter Parish School, South Beloit, Illinois
- 1970-1972 Immaculate Conception Parish School, Dayton, Ohio
- 1972-1982 St. Michael Parish School, Sharonville, Ohio
- 1982-1985 Our Mother of Sorrows Parish School, Cincinnati, Ohio
- 1985-1988 St. Constance Parish School, Chicago, Illinois
- 1988-1989 St. James Parish School, Chicago, Illinois
- 1989-1998 St. Hyacinth Parish School, Chicago, Illinois
- 1998 Academy of Our Lady of the Roses, Chicago, Illinois
- 1999-2009 Director of Resource Center & Tutor, St. Beatrice Parish School, Schiller Park, Illinois
- 2009-2018 Teaching Assistant, Tutor & CCD Teacher, Chicago Illinois
- 2018-2023 Community Service, Mount Notre Dame Health Center, Reading, Ohio
Died September 27, 2024 Mount Notre Dame Health Center, Reading, Ohio
Sister Kim Dalgarn, SNDdeN