Sister Agnese Hutchinson, FSE
Growing up in Superior, Wisconsin, where majestic Lake Superior lies between Wisconsin and Minnesota, Sister Agnese Hutchinson, like most of the local population, thrived on the thrill of outdoor sports and the beauty of nature. She particularly enjoyed downhill skiing, canoeing, waterskiing, swimming and biking. Her love of nature led her to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Science Education with an emphasis on Natural Sciences. Later, as a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, she earned a Master of Science in Botany from Idaho State University where her thesis topic was a vegetation analysis of the area of Harkness Canyon in southeast Idaho. She directed an outdoor education classroom in Harkness Canyon as a teacher at St. Margaret School in Blackfoot, a project undertaken by the Sisters in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management. During her years of religious community formation her response to the wonders of creation found meaning as she grew in Franciscan spirituality. Little did she know during her formative years that one day she would be living in Assisi, Italy, the native place of St. Francis.
Sister Agnese Hutchinson, along with Sister Mary Frances Traynor, founded the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist’s center in Assisi, Italy. Living in Assisi since 1983, Sister Agnese is well steeped in the customs and culture of the town of St. Francis and St. Clare. Sister Agnese’s attraction to Franciscan history and spirituality motivated her to become an official guide of the Basilica of St. Francis where she has offered to pilgrims educational and inspiring tours of the frescoes and artistic elements of the Basilica.
Sister Agnese at the University language center.
Sister Agnese is well known at the University of Perugia where she was a lecturer of English in the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, teaching applied English from 1987 until 2008, at which time the university consolidated all language teaching under one structure, the University Center for Applied Linguistics. She taught there until her retirement in 2019. Parallel to the university teaching, Sister Agnese did translation/editing of scientific manuscripts for many of the university professors as well as translating local guidebooks, numerous publications by the Edizioni Porziuncola publishing group and documents from various Vatican Dicasteries.
The Sisters of the Assisi Center are active members of San Pietro parish and serve as Eucharistic ministers to bring the Blessed Sacrament to homebound parishioners.
Land-based retreat experiences are a significant part of the Assisi center. Sister Agnese guides small groups and individuals in Franciscan prayer coupled with hands-on time in the center’s vegetable garden and olive grove. A special event is the harvesting and extraction of olives in the fall, an experience analogous to a spiritual process of purification and growth, through which many pilgrims gain insights into Franciscan values from their work with Sister Agnese and the Assisi Community.
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