Welcome to Sisters of St. Francis

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS

As women religious we live out the Gospel values through a Franciscan lens. Inflamed by the fire of the Spirit of God, following in the footprints of Jesus and inspired by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi we have:

   * an intense love of God and a desire to be like Jesus
   * a respect for all persons, especially the poor
   * a deep reverence for all creation
   * a commitment to peacemaking
   * a desire to create community wherever we are

Grounded in community, we strive to live out the Gospel values of

   * Contemplation
   * Conversion
   * Poverty
   * Minority

We center our Gospel lives in our relationship with God the Creator, Jesus our Brother, and the Holy Spirit. This relationship is strengthened through Eucharist, Franciscan morning and evening prayer, faith sharing, and private prayer.

The vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are central to our lives:

Poverty: “In evangelical poverty we follow Jesus, who came to bring good news to the poor. Acknowledging that all is gift from a loving Creator, we express our Franciscan poverty through dependence on God and we generously share our lives and resources with others. (Constitutions #19)

Celibacy: “Professing vowed celibacy for the sake of the reign of God, we reverence each person in the human family, with special care for the outcast.” (Constitutions #18)

Obedience: “In our commitment to obedience, we listen, discern, and act in such a way that the reign of God may be more fully realized.” (Constitutions #20)

In June 2010 we formed a team of people to pursue our dream of spreading the vision and values of Francis and Clare. The team members are from left to right top row: Sr. Ginny Heldorfer and Sr. Marie Therese Kalb; left to right bottom row are Lisa Schmidt and Sr. Michaela Galles. (Lisa Schmidt recently joined the Charism Team and will share general responsibilities and in particular will work with two aspects of the Charism Team ministry: she will team with Sr. Marie Therese Kalb working with the Common Venture program and she will also work with Associates. For the past four years Lisa has been living in Okolona, MS. where she served as a Volunteer Coordinator, Massage Therapist, and plant manager at EXCEL (Enrichment and Excellence through Community Educational Leadership.) She will also continue her massage therapy work at Wellness on Davis.

The Charism Team has published a brochure that addresses the groups of people who might be interested in this project. Beginning in June, 2011 groups of Sisters and Associates began creating modules on the topics of theology, history of Francis and Clare, history of the community, spirituality of Francis and Clare, vision and values of Francis and Clare and peace and justice. These modules can be shared with individuals or groups of people (click on links below).

Table of Contents
click here

Franciscan Charism Modules:
1. Values
2. Community History
3. Theology
4. Spirituality

History of St. Francis and St. Clare:
1. Introductory History Module
2. Intermediate History Module
3. Franciscan Sources
4. Brief History of the Franciscan Family
5. Evolution of the Franciscan Movement

See brochure on our website under Publications or click here.

Click here to view the latest Newsletter.