ROME (06-30-2024) – Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, recently received the most prestigious award given to professional women in Italy, The Marisa Bellisario Award; it is known in Italy as the "Oscar for Women." The awards ceremony of the 36th edition of the Marisa Bellisario Prize for "women who make a difference" was held at the Colosseum Park in Rome, and was televised on Italian television on the evening of June 15. Below is a description of Marisa Bellisario Foundation and the award: "The Marisa Bellisario Foundation, created in 1989, the Marisa Bellisario Award is recognized as the most authoritative Italian accolade for female excellence. It awards each year successful women in Italy who have distinguished themselves in their professional fields as innovative managers, entrepreneurs or researchers at a national and international level. The award, the Golden Apple, originates from Marisa Bellisario, one of the first Italian female managers. She stood for equality between men and women in the corporate world. Thus, the foundation recognizes the top performance of women in the professional world of making a further step on the road to equal opportunities. "The beating heart of the Marisa Bellisario Award is merit, the Foundation's true common denominator, but also determination, a proud belief in one's abilities, a spirit of sacrifice, a confident commitment to achieving goals, and a spirit of sharing and generosity toward other women" (Foundazione Marisa Bellisario website). The Franciscan Community congratulates Sister Raffaella on this special professional, secular recognition, and even more so, is proud of her keen sense of apostolic spirit, her dedication to the Church and the Community, and the "ordinary Franciscan way" she carries [...]

BRIDAL VEIL, OREGON (06-02-2024) – Sister Dorothy Hood, FSE entered eternal life after suffering an unexpected episode of choking the evening of June 1, the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) while the Community was gathered for a meal. The entire Franciscan Community mourns her death and lives profoundly with the reality of Christ’s words, “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mt 24:36). Sister Dorothy was known in the Community for her faithfulness, her steady and meticulous attention to detail, and her gracious and caring attitude. She enjoyed being a support behind the scenes and serving others in whatever way was needed. Strong in faith, she witnessed for others patient endurance in suffering. This became a hallmark of Sister Dorothy especially after she was seriously injured in a car accident. The resulting loss of her left eye after several surgeries, as well as other health-related problems, seemed to serve to strengthen Sister Dorothy’s spiritual stance of accepting God’s will and offering her suffering for the good of the Church and the Community. Sister Dorothy’s friendly acceptance of the uniqueness of individuals was evident in her years of managing the Little Portion Store on Shaw Island, Washington, and her later years of working in the gift shop at The Grotto, The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland, where providing a welcoming environment to customers from all over the world is a joyful priority. She enjoyed meeting and conversing with friends and [...]

Sister Mary Mercy Lee, FSE Sister Amaris Salata, FSE MERIDEN, CT (05-26-2024) - Over 300 guests filled the Chapel of Saint John at the motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist to witness Sister Mary Mercy Lee and Sister Amaris Salata profess perpetual vows on Holy Trinity Sunday. Mother Miriam Seiferman, Mother General, received the Sisters' vows in the presence of the Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne, Archbishop of Hartford, sixteen priests and deacons, family, friends and the Franciscan Community. The Sisters' parents, Bob and Maryalyce Lee, and Chris and Mary Salata, walked their daughters to the altar in the entrance procession and presented them to Mother Miriam and Mother Barbara Johnson, Vicar General. Sister Mary Mercy, formerly a professional writer and editor, has been a religion teacher and campus minister at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol during her years of religious formation. She inaugurated an "Assistant Campus Ministers" program for students to be involved in planning and executing religious events at the school. A few years earlier, when she entered novitiate in the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, her final blog as an employee of CatholicMatch online dating service, entitled "I Quit CatholicMatch for God," attracted so many hits that the company server crashed. The article has since been read over 15,500 times. In the coming weeks, Sister Mary Mercy will be entering a new mission, as she is assigned to the Rome Center and will work at the Vatican. Sister Amaris entered the Community as a young professional working in corporate offices as a Certified Public Accountant. She has since earned a Masters in [...]

MERIDEN, CT (03-31-2024) - The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist wish you a blessed Easter Season! May the fulness of the Season when we celebrate the miraculous Resurrection of Christ bring you hope and life!

MERIDEN, CT (03-23-2024) - Sister Josina Marie Rocero completed her two-year novitiate and professed first vows in the Meriden Community's Chapel of Saint John on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Mother Miriam Seiferman, FSE, Mother General, imparted her religious wisdom in affirmation of Sister Josina Marie's request for vows and then received Sister's vows. Sister Maria Sena, FSE, who will serve as one of Sister's formators, and Sister Renee Marek, novice coordinator, were witnesses. Reverend Joseph McCabe served as Church witness and gave his priestly blessing to Sister Josina Marie. Continuing the Community's custom, Mother Miriam, Mother Barbara Johnson, FSE, Vicar General, and Mother Shaun Vergauwen, FSE, Co-foundress, imparted their blessings to the newly professed Sister. Originally from the Philippines where she served as a nurse, Sister Josina Marie moved to Canada where she met the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in Vancouver, B.C. Click on photos to enlarge.

MERIDEN, CT (03-10-2024) - "The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist are a blessing for the Archdiocese of Hartford engaged in so many diverse ministries. It seems fitting that as you have recently celebrated 50 years as a Pontifical Religious Order of Women that the Archdiocese of Hartford would also recognize this great milestone," wrote The Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair, Archbishop of Hartford, in a letter to Mother Miriam Seiferman, FSE, Mother General, and to Mother Shaun Vergauwen, FSE, Co-foundress. The Archbishop continued, "I am pleased to inform you both that the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist have been chosen as one of the recipients of the Twenty-Third Annual Saint Joseph Archdiocesan Medal of Appreciation. This medal is presented in recognition of dedicated service to parishes of the Archdiocese of Hartford. However, this year I wish to present a medal to you, on behalf of your entire community, to recognize your outstanding service to the Archdiocese itself." The Saint Joseph Medal of Appreciation ceremony which included Daytime Prayer, Benediction and presentation of awards, was held March 10 at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Hartford. Filled to capacity, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese seated numerous priests, hundreds of parishioners, family members of award recipients, the Meriden Franciscan Community and the FSE General Council. Archbishop Blair presided with Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne and Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miquel Betancourt in attendance. The Saint Joseph Medal of Appreciation was given to lay persons recommended by their pastors, representing 89 parishes. The Saint Joseph Archdiocesan Outstanding Service Award was presented to five lay professionals and Mother Miriam and Mother Shaun. In this year of celebration of [...]

MERIDEN, CT (02-12-2024) - Danah Agustin, daughter of Lorenza and Danilo Agustin of Vancouver, BC, entered the novitiate of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist on Sunday, February 11, the traditional day commemorating Our Lady of Lourdes. On this day in 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared for the first of 18 times to a 14-year old French girl, Bernadette Soubirous. In the private ceremony, Mother Miriam Seiferman, FSE, Mother General, received Danah's request for novitiate, responding with a strong affirmation of Danah's readiness for this next step in religious formation. Following Mother Miriam's blessing of the habit, veil and cincture, Danah, accompanied by Mother Barbara Johnson, FSE, Vicar General, was clothed in the garments that mark her as a Franciscan Sister. Upon Danah's return to the chapel, Mother Miriam presented her with her religious name, Sister Bernadette. She explained that there were many choices of names that would be fitting for Danah, but "Bernadette" seemed to capture the spirit of a faith-filled young woman who knew a major change in her life after encountering the Blessed Virgin in her appearances at Lourdes. The story of Bernadette is well-known in the Catholic Church, as she was the occasion for the Blessed Virgin to affirm the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. When Bernadette asked the woman in the vision what her name was, she replied, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette continued to be faithful to the messages that she received from the Blessed Virgin. The Church has known immense grace from the events at Lourdes and Bernadette was the instrument God chose to bring this about for the healing of the world. The [...]

LOWELL, MI  - Sister Darlene Wessling, FSE entered eternal life Sunday morning, January 28 as her Sisters of the Lowell Community and Mother Miriam Seiferman, Mother General, surrounded her with prayer and loving vigilance. Sister Darlene had lived valiantly with a serious heart condition for several years and was admitted to hospice care last week. With an upbeat and positive attitude, trusting in God's providence, she was an inspiration to her Sisters as she prepared to meet Christ, her Spouse, after a full life as a consecrated religious woman in community. Sister Darlene was a vibrant and stalwart member of the Lowell center for the past 44 years. An accomplished social worker specializing in gerontology, she served the needs of elderly persons through her work with agencies in west central Michigan. For seven years she worked directly with hospice patients to help them and their families prepare for their final journey. The past few years, Sister Darlene joined the pastoral team at St. Robert of Newminster Parish in nearby Ada, Michigan, where her social work skills and years of experience came to flowering within a faith context as she visited elderly members of the parish, often being at their side as they entered eternal life. A true Iowan at heart, Sister Darlene, daughter of Hugo and Hedwig Wessling, grew up on her family farms in Dedham and Westside, Iowa, with her siblings Roselyn, George and John. She graduated from Kuemper Catholic High School, Carroll, where she played percussion in the band and orchestra, specializing in snare drum. During her freshman year, with her mother's sudden death, she helped her father manage the tasks of the [...]

During 2023, Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist were featured in a variety of news articles by both secular and Catholic press outlets. Here are a few of the noteworthy items: Sister Catherine Mary Clarke, Dying a Natural Death, Catholic Transcript, July-August 2023, pp 12-15 "Sister Catherine Mary Clarke, a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist, has comforted the dying for more than 17 years as a clinical social worker with Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care in Meriden." Sister Catherine Mary explains her work with hospice patients in light of the Catholic Church's teaching on dying. Sister Lucia Treanor, EWTN Life on the Rock, Interview about "Elwood, the Story of a Catholic WWII Hero" (Interview starts at 3:20) and EWTN Great Britain, A Hero's Tale: Remembering A Catholic Captain Who Gave All in World War II Sister Lucia talks about her recent book relaying the story of her cousin who died saving lives in the South Pacific during World War II. Sister Naomi Zimmermann, A Time for Healing, L'Osservatore Romano, August 25, 2023 and Holy Child Program: Serving children and families in Bethlehem, Vatican News, September 1, 2023 Sister Naomi writes about the healing mission of the Holy Child Program in Beit Sahour, Holy Land. "The mission of the Holy Child Program has always been to instill hope through healing. It is a safe place for those who manifest emotional behavioral problems resulting in difficulties at home, at school and in the community." Sister Mary Frances Traynor, Proclaim the Gospel of Creation: Assisi's Missionary Send-off of Laudato Si' Animators, Laudato Si Week 2023 Sister Mary Frances proclaimed a reading during the world-wide zoom [...]

MERIDEN, CT (12-01-2023) - Fifty years ago on December 2, 1973, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist were established as a pontifical religious order of women by a decree of the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for Religious. The Sisters were formerly members of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The erection of the new Congregation on December 2, followed upon a meeting with the Sacred Congregation in Rome of the President and Vice President of the Franciscan Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration and three representatives of the group that was to become the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. Standing on the steps of St. Peter Basilica, Rome, on November 5, 1973, are, from left, Mother Ann Marie Kerper, former Mother General of FSPA; Mother Rita Brunner, former Provincial of FSPA Southern Province; and Mother Rosemae Pender, of FSPA Provisional Province, former Council Member, formation director, and leader of the experiment in Religious Life that resulted in the formation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. Mother Rosemae Pender, was appointed Superior General of the new Congregation by the Vatican. Her assistants were Mother Shaun Vergauwen, Mother Rita Brunner and Mother Mary Ann Schmitz. The new Community numbered 55 Sisters. Mother Rosemae Pender, FSE, (right), Superior General and Mother Shaun Vergauwen, FSE Mother Rita Brunner, FSE and Mother Mary Ann Schmitz, FSE Our Mothers General and Vicars General 1973-1981 Mother Rosemae and her three assistants, known as the Transformation Team, guided the Community during the founding years until the Constitutions were written and approved by the Vatican [...]