Sr. Francis (photo from The Religious of the Assumption website).

Sister Francis Joseph was the “peace pilgrim.” Grace Kelly was among her students. She entered the convent at the age of 33 and traveled the world, but is known to many St. Francis de Sales students as the nun who taught peace.

Sr. Francis died last Thursday. She was 93.

Born Rachel Scarpello in Germantown, Sr. Francis served as the first lay principal of the Catholic school Ravenhill Academy in East Falls, which Kelly attended in the 1940s. Sr. Francis taught at Ravenhill for 12 years before she decided to join the order Religious of the Assumption and their convent at 1001 S. 47th St., across the street from St. Francis de Sales.

Sr. Francis on her 90th birthday in 2009.

You may have seen Sr. Francis sitting on the convent porch or you might have helped her across the street as she leaned on her cane.

“I make friends through that cane,” she told a reporter from The Catholic Standard and Times newspaper for an article marking her 90th birthday in 2009.

What you probably didn’t know is that after graduating from Chestnut Hill College she worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That was before she became a nun. During her long career with the Assumption Sisters, Sr. Francis worked in Paris, Osaka and Manilla, where she was instrumental in building housing for the poor. She was one of the first women to attend Gregorian University in Rome.

In recent years at the St. Francis de Sales School she became known as the “peace pilgrim,” stopping by classes and teaching students about peace through stories. Sr. Francis also had a long relationship with Saint Joseph’s University, where an outreach lecture series she started 30 years ago was named after her in 2011.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 5 at 10 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales (47th and Springfield).

– Mike Lyons

Earlier this week we posted an announcement from a reader, Nati, who was looking for the owners of a dog that had bitten him while he was riding his bike. Nati was trying to prevent a painful series of rabies shots and, fortunately, the dog owner stepped forward after the publication.

Here’s another, disturbing account of a dog attack that happened yesterday at The Woodlands Cemetery. Reader Krissy Kim reported that while on a walk with her dog at the cemetery another, off-leash dog approached them, attacked and bit her dog. Here’s what Krissy wrote in an email:

“Yesterday, Thursday 2/28, my husband and I were walking our dog on leash at Woodlands Cemetery. Another dog off leash approached her, they greeted each other appropriately (the owner was still about 50 yards away) when all of the sudden the dog attacked our dog, my husband had to pull him off and body block him during his second lunge for our dog. The dog bit her on the back of the neck and didn’t let go until my husband again pulled him off. At this point the owner was there and did nothing but say, “relax there is no blood”. He then proceeded to get in his car with his dog and drive away. After they left and we checked our dog, he indeed took a small chunk out of her neck (see photo). The vet visit with her antibiotics cost $75.”

According to the cemetery rules, dog walking is allowed, but all dogs have to be on a leash.

Krissy is urging the dog owner to come forward and take responsibility for what his dog did. Krissy says that she has information on this person’s car and license plate number. She described the attacking dog as a medium (40 pound) brindle mixed breed.

She adds, “On  the heels of the “biker being bitten” story hopefully this will continue to be an example of how we all need to step up and be responsible pet owners for the sake of our community.”

Krissy can be reached by email: krissykp@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: We would appreciate any comments except for those blaming certain dog breeds instead of irresponsible owners.

54-year-old Anthony Dent was arrested in connection with two recent burglaries, including the burglary at City Tap House, according to police. Both burglaries were captured by surveillance cameras. On January 18, at 7:30 a.m., Dent apparently entered the City Tap House building located at 3925 Walnut Street, took a laptop computer from an office, then stole assorted meats from the freezer and fled through the back emergency exit door.

On January 26 around 5:30 a.m. Dent entered a building located on the 3800 block of Chestnut Street by prying the side door open with a large screwdriver, took some items, including assorted power tools, and placed them in a parked vehicle. He then returned to the building several times for more items, according to police. The suspect was captured on surveillance video on 39th Street where he placed the tools into a parked silver Volvo XC90 and fled.

Dent was arrested on the 1600 block of 62nd Street and charged with burglary, theft and other related offenses.

(Source: Philly Police Blog).

Pssst. Hey, West Philly meat eaters! This Saturday, March 2, there’s a great opportunity to try meat from local farms and help neighborhood schools. Philly CowShare, a West Philly-based company that  sells “shares” of locally-raised, grass-fed beef and pastured pork, is hosting a one-day meat sale at the Calvary Center at 48th & Baltimore, from 2 – 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools and Penn Alexander School’s HSA.

The sale offers a one-stop shop where you can learn about participating farms, buy a package of beef or pork to cook at home and even get some recipes! The following items will be available for purchase: steaks, roasts, ground beef, no-nitrate bacon, sausage, pork chops, and sampler packs (pre-orders for sampler bundles are available online). All meat is individually packaged, labeled, and USDA certified.

Philly CowShare helps connect “communities of responsible farmers and butchers with urban communities who simply want to eat well.” The company sells bundles of beef called CowShares and bundles of pork called PigShares that are available to purchase individually and as a group. Philly CowShare challenges the consumer to eat healthy meat and to eat meat more mindfully and wants to make sure that “the farmer and butcher are paid fairly and the animals are raised in accordance with their nature and in harmony with the land.”

To learn more about how Philly CowShare operates, visit their website or Facebook page.

Mount Zion Baptist Church (50th & Woodland) and the pastor, Reverend Cedric Jones, are hosting a forum on school closings in Southwest Philly tonight, from 6 – 8 p.m.  The following schools in the School District of Philadelphia’s Southwest Planning Area are slated for closure: Wilson Elementary, Pepper and Shaw middle schools, and University City High School.

You can find more information on the proposed closings and other changes in the Southwest Planning Area here (PDF file).

Here’s a list of kindergarten open houses scheduled in West Philadelphia in March compiled by the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools and co-sponsored by Cedar Park Neighbors, Garden Court Community Association, Spruce Hill Community Association, and Walnut Hill Community Association.

A. D. Harrington School
5300-34 Baltimore Ave., 19143
(215) 471 – 2914
www.philasd.org/schools/harrington
Open House: 3/5, 9:09-9:45 a.m.

Alain Locke School
4550 Haverford Ave., 19139
(215) 823 – 8202
http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/l/locke
Open House: 3/5, call school for time

Alexander Wilson School
1300 S. 46th St., 19143
(215) 823 – 8206
www.philasd.org/schools/alexanderwilson
Open House: 3/5, Starts 9:00 a.m.

B. B. Comegys School
5100 Greenway Ave., 19143
(215) 727 – 2162
Open House: 3/5, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Henry C. Lea School
4700 Locust St., 19139
(215) 471 – 2915
http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/l/lea
Open House: 3/5, 9:15 – 10:15 a.m.

Martha Washington Academics
766 N. 44th St., 19104
(215) 823 – 8203
www.philasd.org/schools/marthawashington
Open House: Not having Open House in March
Will have Open House on 5/17, 12:30-1:15 p.m.

Morton McMichael School
3543 Fairmount Ave., 19104
(215) 823-8272
http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/m/mcmichael
Open House: 3/5, 1:30-2:15 p.m.

Penn Alexander School
4209 Spruce St., 19104
(215) 823 – 5465
www.philasd.org/schools/pennalexander
Open House: 3/5, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Samuel B. Huey School
5200 Pine St., 19143
(215) 471 – 2901
Open House: 3/5, 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Samuel Powel School
301 N. 36th St., 19104
(215) 823 – 8201
www.philasd.org/schools/powel
Open House: 3/5, 8:30-10:00 a.m.