In the heart of South Philadelphia, where church bells once rang over cobblestone streets and Sunday hymns drifted from open parish doors, the story of Jerry and Lucille Francesco began—a union composed like sacred music, each measure marked by faith, fidelity, and the quiet rhythm of a life lived for others. Their marriage, like a well-loved liturgy, was both familiar and profound, a harmony that deepened with time and trial.
Jerry pursued his education with quiet resolve, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees from Philadelphia institutions, and later completing his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in Tennessee. Lucille, possessed of equal brilliance and determination, studied nutrition at Drexel University, becoming a registered dietitian. Both were guided not merely by ambition, but by a desire to serve—a calling that would echo through the years to come.
After college, they married and raised two children, one of whom would go on to marry and welcome a daughter into the family—another verse added to the growing melody of their lives.
Jerry’s path led him into a specialized field of pharmacy focused on the intricate preparation of nutrient and drug infusions for patients in homes and healthcare facilities. Lucille’s sharp intellect, warmth, and gift for leadership proved instrumental in founding a company that would become a national leader in this delicate and essential work. Their professional success, however, was never an end in itself—it was simply another way to love, to give, and to serve.
“I’ve always believed that if your work helps others and is done with care, then it becomes something more than a job—it becomes a vocation. For Lucille and me, our work was one of the ways we could love our neighbor,” said Jerry.
As their business flourished, so did their spiritual life. Together they journeyed across Europe, walking the ancient paths of saints and pilgrims, collecting relics and memories—tangible signs of grace—that they brought home like sacred verses etched into their hearts. Their house became a place where the spiritual and the temporal met, where faith was not just professed but lived.
In retirement, their lives found a new key, one deeply attuned to the works of mercy and the beauty of the Church. Lucille gave herself wholeheartedly to charitable causes, especially to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, whose mission to form priests for the Church resonated deeply with her. She chaired major fundraisers and, with Jerry at her side, played an essential role in orchestrating the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015. Their work took them all the way to the Vatican, where they joined a select group entrusted with preparations for the event. For their outstanding service to the Church, both were knighted into the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.—a rare and solemn recognition of their fidelity.
After Lucille’s passing in 2018, Jerry sought a way to carry her voice forward. Knowing her deep affection for the sacred liturgy and the music that lifts it heavenward, he established The Lucille Francesco Chair of Sacred Music at St. Charles Seminary. Through his generous contributions, Lucille’s devotion lives on in every chant, every psalm, every young seminarian formed by the beauty she held dear.
“Lucille believed that sacred music was not just an art—it was a prayer, a way to lift hearts to God,” said Jerry. “This gift is my way of honoring the beauty she saw in the liturgy and the deep love she held for St. Charles Seminary.”
In addition to Jerry’s outright gifts to the Seminary, he has also prayerfully elected to include St. Charles in his estate plans. Through special planned gifts directed to The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia to establish restricted endowments, Jerry and Lucille will be able to support the Chair of Sacred Music and St. Charles Seminary in perpetuity.
“With the help of The Catholic Foundation, I was able to make commitments that will continue to bear fruit for future generations—preserving the beauty of sacred music and honoring everything Lucille believed in. It’s a tribute to her, and a way for our shared values to live on indelibly,” said Jerry.
Their story—of love, legacy, and a faith lived with purpose—reminds us that generosity comes in many forms. With care, commitment, and the right support, each act of giving becomes part of something greater. The impact Jerry and Lucille have made will continue to echo through the lives they’ve touched and the Church they’ve helped strengthen for generations to come.