Sister Mary Roberta Connors, FSE

Sister Mary Roberta Connors’ artistic talents have generated beauty in many forms for the Community since its beginning days. She is considered our own in-house graphics expert whose sense of design is appreciated and trusted. Sister Mary Roberta earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has used her extraordinary talent to further the mission of the Community through graphic design, photography and painting.

Responding to a request to design a logo for a company tee-shirt was the beginning stimulus in her founding a Community graphics service, Franciscan Graphics & Corporate Services. This became a mission not only to help support the FSE Community but also to bring a Franciscan presence into the secular arena. For years, Sister Mary Roberta and her team designed print media – annual reports, brochures, posters, invitations, billboards – for business clients in Connecticut. Franciscan Graphics’ creative services are well remembered by clients and Sister Mary Roberta’s winning personality turned business clients into friends.

While missioned in Houston, Sister Mary Roberta produced the graphic materials for the annual iconic River Oaks Garden Club’s Azalea Trail. She has used her skill in photography to document important events for the Community. She has produced numerous original greeting cards for sale and as gifts to friends. Some of her work can be found at Etsy.com.

Now working at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, as Director of Ongoing Formation, she uses her business background to organize various annual enrichment programs offered by the seminary. This includes designing and producing promotional materials. She serves as the superior of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in the Boynton Beach center and was a member of the General Council from 2011-2017.

Sister Mary Roberta has been the creative engine behind the silent auction at the annual Franciscan Sports Banquet, a fundraising event of the Franciscan Life Center, Meriden, Connecticut. Somehow, she magically comes up with valuable sports memorabilia for the auction after just a friendly conversation with a stranger she met on a flight or in a store. Her light-hearted Irish spirit seems to tap into generous hearts who consider it an honor to help out.

Click on photos below to enlarge.