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Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota

The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota, are a community of women religious whose members are called to live the Gospel joyfully and to reverence the earth and all of God’s creation. In the spirit of Saints Francis and Clare, they embody a life of prayer, simple living and service to those in need. The sisters are committed to nonviolence as they recognize the need for healing in people and in our world. The sisters seek to build communities of peace and justice wherever we are called to serve.

 History—1891 to present

The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota, is a Roman Catholic Congregation of religious women of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi. Our community was founded in central Minnesota in 1891 by sixteen women who had previously been members of another Franciscan congregation. In God’s providential plan, these women, having lost contact with their original foundress who had become ill in Rome, submitted a request of the bishop of the St. Cloud Diocese to become a congregation under his jurisdiction. Having been granted a piece of land on the south side of Little Falls, the sisters, with the help of generous benefactors, constructed a building that immediately served as a residence for orphan children, a hospital, a home for the aged and a convent for the sisters. From these simple beginnings, the sisterhood flourished and continued to develop ministries in health care, education and social services throughout Minnesota and into Wisconsin. Eventually the sisters’ desire to serve others and to promote the Gospel carried them to places throughout the United States and to other continents, notably South and Central America and Africa.

Character of the Life

The life of a Franciscan is characterized by simplicity and a profound reverence for all created things. Acknowledging God the Creator as the source of everything that is, Franciscans accept life and all created reality as gift. Thus they strive to be free of a possessive grasping spirit, recognizing the freedom that comes from living a life of dependence on God and interdependence with one another and with the greater world around them. Enjoying the freedom of the children of God, they recognize in other human beings and in all created things the reality of a common brotherhood and sisterhood. Thus they walk joyfully and gently on the earth with deep respect for all people and all things. Like Francis and Clare and the early Franciscans, they approach others in a spirit of peace and reconciliation, manifesting in word and example their commitment to following in the footprints of Jesus Christ.

The Community Today

Today the sisters number 166 vowed members. They live and serve throughout the United States as well as in Mexico and Ecuador. Their mission is extended in a manifold way by an association of friends (Franciscan Associates) of the congregation who aspire to participate in the spirit and energy of the sisterhood while remaining in their own committed lifestyles. Franciscan Associates are women, men and even families from many walks of life who share the desire to live the Gospel with joy and zeal and to be witness in society to the peace and reconciliation that Francis and Clare envisioned. Following in the footprints of Jesus Christ and moved by the same Spirit that moved Francis and Clare, members and associates of our community witness to the unconditional love that God has for all creatures, celebrate this love in worship service and make available to all they meet the presence of the Risen Christ who lives among us.