Sister Kathleen Osbelt

Sister Kathleen Osbelt, OSF, passed away May 4 at Francis House, the home for the terminally ill that she founded 31 years ago.

Sister Kathleen was born in Syracuse to Roy M. and Anna Mae Osbelt. She was 71 years of age and had been a Sister of St. Francis for 52 years. She grew up as a member of Holy Trinity Parish and after graduating from Assumption Academy in June of 1968, entered the Sisters of St. Francis in September of the same year.

She began her ministry of service to others as an elementary school teacher in New York and New Jersey. After this she returned to Syracuse as pastoral minister at St. Joseph Hospital Health Center followed by a four-year term as general secretary for the Sisters of St. Francis.

At this point in her life, sister felt strongly called to the ministry of caring for the terminally ill and comforting the families of those who love them. In 1991, she founded Francis House, a home for the terminally ill, a ministry in which she lovingly worked for 32 years.

Sister Kathleen also worked in community service as the director of Franciscan Sponsored Ministries and later as coordinator of the Franciscan Villa Construction. She was a pastoral minister at All Saints' Parish in Syracuse, and finally was resource center coordinator for her beloved Francis House.

Sister Kathleen's ongoing compassion for the terminally ill, inspired her to work as a member of the Aids Housing Coalition, while also being in regular contact with people who manage three of the Subsaharan Hospices.

Some of Sister Kathleen's awards include the Syracuse Post Standard Woman of Achievement; Governor's Award to Outstanding Women; Catholic Charities Bishop's Medallion; Eckerd Salute to Women National Award; 2003 Women of Distinction for NY State 50th District honor; 2003 Northeast Community Center Northside Hall of Fame and 2005 Northside Walkway of Fame. Furthermore, she found delight in being Grand Marshal for the Syracuse St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Sister Kathleen will be remembered for her responsiveness to the needs of her community and the Church, her creative spirit, her ability to relate to others on all levels, love of life, prayerfulness, graciousness, grand sense of humor, deep appreciation of her Franciscan Vocation and her spirit of thankfulness for God's gifts.

Sister Kathleen penned a piece for Syracuse Woman Magazine in 2021 describing her life and her experience in sisterhood. In that piece, she wrote:

“How much more does God love each of us? I don’t want to miss any of it. Maybe my “seeing” has become more acute because I know I have a terminal illness. It’s a little like the young woman in the play, Our Town, who comes back for a day and realizes how painfully beautiful it all is.

As a Sister, my life has been full and blessed with so many people and creatures. We offer our lives as women dedicated to putting flesh on Jesus’ message of love, and as is often said of Francis House, we get so much more back than we give.” SWM