“This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what I desire with all my heart.”
(1 Celano 22)
We encourage single Catholic women who wish to journey with us in living a Gospel life and mission that can powerfully impact others. The formation of a Franciscan Sister of the Sacred Heart is the journey of a lifetime. To learn more, please contact Sr. Maria Brizuela at 815.464.3873 or .
COME AND SEE!
We warmly welcome single Catholic women who wish to journey with us in living a Gospel life and mission that can powerfully impact others. The
formation of a Franciscan Sister of the Sacred Heart is the journey of a lifetime. Stages of discernment and formation precede vowed membership.
A Visit to St. Francis Woods may be arranged with complimentary accommodations. Vocation companioning is offered for discerning God's call. To learn more, contact Sr. Maria Brizuela (815.464.3873; ). Below are additional vocation resources.
Our Vision
Through shared wisdom with the membership, our Leadership Team focuses its visioning and energies on the 27th General Chapter Mandatum, "Be the fire of the charism on our Gospel journey!" Read more about What We Do. See our Leadership Team here.
Our Treasured Gifts
As gifts for the journey, we treasure personal and communal prayer, community living and the vows of poverty—living as pilgrims, being unencumbered by material things as we work to advance the common good of all; chastity—pledging a single-heartedness to the God who first loved us; obedience—listening and responding to the promptings of the Spirit as we become God’s deepest desire for us.
Our Ministries
“They should desire one thing alone,
namely, the Spirit of God at work within them.”
(TOR Rule Ch. IX-32)
Our ministries were defined by our founder, Father Wilhelm Berger, as "works of neighborly love." They are carried out in Illinois, Indiana, California and Brazil. We serve in health care, education, parish ministry, diocesan ministry, retreat ministry, body work, ministry among the poor. All those encountered in these various ministries bless our pilgrim journey.
Video: Ministries of Love https://youtu.be/QwnM-3G4mko.
Our History
By browsing our archives you will come to know how the Sisters have touched the lives of so many people through our more than 150-year history of serving God's people.
Our Advocacies
Below is a list of advocacies to which our congregation feels called. You can read about them in more detail on the What We Do page. We invite all our neighbors to partner with us in these advocacies, so please reach out if you would like to help in any way, great or small!
- Furthering Peace and Justice
- Protecting our Environment
- Welcoming Immigrants
- Diminishing Human Trafficking
- Eliminating the Death Penalty
Jubilarians
This year we celebrate the jubilees of six Sisters. See them here.
In Memoriam
The photos and eulogies of our Sisters who have entered eternal life since 2015 can be found here.