Congratulations to Sister Jacinta and Sister Mary Francesco who, collectively,  are celebrating 75 years as Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church!

We are so very blessed to have such wonderful Sisters.  Below are messages from each Sister sharing a little about their own journey.

Celebrating 50 years of loving service

Hello, my name is Sister Mary Jacinta, a happy Sister of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church for 50 years!  It is a wonderful calling to live a life of charity in imitation of Jesus and Mary and be united in community life with my fellow Sisters, working together.

I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a Sister. The Lord gradually led me with a desire to follow Him.  There were times when kind Sisters came to visit the youth at my home town parish.  During their visits, I recognized something very special about them.   I knew they belonged entirely to God and I saw that as a great blessing.  This thought would come to me every once in a while, but I did not know if this life was for me.

After high school, I enrolled in a nearby college nursing program where I could more closely learn about the Sisters who taught there.  It also allowed me to learn about their way of life.  What impressed me most was the great joy that showed through everything the Sisters did.

After graduation, I worked as a nurse at a nearby hospital, but I was not content with just being a nurse.  My desire for religious life was growing and I wanted something more. That something was what the Sisters had from their prayer life and religious life.

I was grateful to learn from my hometown Pastor who had visited our Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church himself.  He explained how these Sisters closely follow in the footsteps of Christ through prayer and the service of others. When I visited these Sisters, I knew that God had called me home. I found my Sisters.

Celebrating 25 years of loving service

Sister Mary Francesco is celebrating 25 years as a Sister of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church.  However, her relationship with Jesus began long before that.

While her mother did make sure that all of the children were baptized in the Catholic Church, Sister will tell you that she really “grew up without religion”. Sister Mary Francesco will also tell you that Jesus had a plan for her from a very young age. From a 5 year old little girl sitting in church fascinated by the “table” in the front (the altar), to the third grader sneaking the Children’s Bible off the lawyer’s bookcase she wasn’t supposed to be touching, Sister Mary Francesco’s relationship with Jesus took root. In fact, she read through the entire Children’s Bible three times and turned to her mom with questions.

In seventh grade, Sister’s family moved again.  This time they were only 1.25 mi away from a Catholic Church and the whole family began attending Mass the first Sunday of each month. Jesus continued to work in Sister’s heart and after her freshman year in highschool, Sister felt Jesus reach out to her in a special way.  At first, she didn’t want to be a Sister, she wanted to be a farm girl!  That is what she knew, it’s how she grew up. But Sister eventually realized that when Jesus calls, the heart wants to follow.

So, at a young age, Sister did enter a community of Sisters in Wisconsin. She became a teacher.  Unfortunately, overtime, the USA province of that community ceased to exist and Sister needed to follow her Bridegroom to another Community.

Sister Mary Francesco followed Him right to the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church. We are so very grateful that she did.  Sister will tell you that the courtship has never ended. She will share that her love for Him continues to grow as He continues to make His love for her known in little ways, many known only to her. Then, just she smiles…