Rebuilding the Church
The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist continue the call of St. Francis of Assisi to rebuild the Church. Like St. Clare, we are vowed religious women who embody the spirit of St. Francis and seek to enflame humanity with a sense of the sacred found deep within each person.
We are dedicated to the teachings of the Holy Father and maintain authentic perennial values while initiating new forms of apostolic service.
Our way of life is centered by the Holy Eucharist and strong community bonding. These lay the foundation for our many outreaches into the complexities of today’s world.
Our charism is to be a “Eucharistic field” capable of calling forth the joyful dignity of another’s being.
Our charism emboldens us to face prayerfully the following issues as our particular focus in our mission of rebuilding the Church:
Our mission is to restore a sense of the sacred, especially the sacredness of human life, in a world that knows the rupture between the sacred and the secular.
Why We are a Garden of Sisters
Founded in 1973
Generalate and Motherhouse
As the motherhouse and headquarters of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, the Meriden center is the spiritual touchstone for all the centers. The Generalate offices and the residence of our Mother General and Vicar General are a key part of the center.
A Growing Community
As a Community founded after Vatican II, we have experienced steady growth since our founding. We are proud to say that each new vocation has been a gift. Many wonderful and talented young women have found new life in entering and becoming vital members of the Community.
Following the Footsteps
Following the spirit of Saint Francis, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist see manual work as an opportunity to be co-creators with God in making the world a more ordered place. It is an opportunity to engage with creation in challenging, productive and energetic ways so as to become more human, as Pope John Paul II teaches in his encyclical “On Human Work.”
Memorial

Remember the Rock from Which We Were Hewn
Mother Rosemae Pender, FSE
September 11, 1921 – June 26, 2016
We remember with profound love and lively joy, Mother Rosemae Pender, FSE, our Mother Foundress, who is our constant inspiration in our efforts “to rebuild the Church by being a Eucharistic Body filled with the dimensions of the Church” as she frequently urged us.
“I bless you all that I can and more than I can, and what I cannot do, I ask God to do in you.”
In The News
Sister Judith Gebelein, FSE, beloved nurse, enters eternal life
FALLS CHURCH, VA (03-04-2025) - Sister Judith Gebelein, FSE entered eternal life today at Virginia Hospital in Arlington, following an acute respiratory complication. Her Community of Sisters kept vigil in prayer [...]
Pope Francis appoints Sister Raffaella Petrini as President of the Governorate of Vatican City State
ROME (02-15-2025) - Pope Francis announced today the appointment of Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and [...]
Sisters join thousands of pro-life advocates at National March for Life
WASHINGTON, DC (01-24-2025) - Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist from Meriden, Connecticut, Lewiston, Maine, Falls Church, Virginia, and Boynton Beach, Florida centers joined thousands of pro-life supporters for the National March [...]
Our Programs
Featured Sisters
Growth Starts Here.
