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Pilgrims 'move outward to go inward,' trace FSPA founders steps

Pilgrimage participants, front row, from left, Sisters Connie Walton and Fran Sulzer; Edna Whalen, Ann Fox and Marci Madary. Back row, from left, Mary Ann Witcraft, Carol Brickson, Mary Schilling, Chet Corey, Cele Bruss, Lucille Pedretti, Mary Snider, Marilyn Domke and Jean Fay. Photo courtesy of Marci Madary

by Marci Madary
No matter the destination, the pilgrim’s journey is always the same: moving outward to go inward. While it may not compute in our logical brains, a pilgrimage invites a person to reverently travel to an unknown place, which eventually leads the pilgrim to a deeper self-understanding. Enya’s song Pilgrim concludes with the words, “Pilgrim, in your journey you may travel far, for a pilgrim it’s a long way to find out who you are.” Outward to go inward. This is also my story. As I prayerfully followed the path of the founders of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration with two sisters and 11 affiliates in July 2006, my call to live as a Franciscan and an affiliate was strengthened in my blood and in my bones.

The dream of this particular Franciscan women’s congregation did not begin with one woman, or even a group of women. It started in 1849 with a group of 12 lay Franciscans, men and women and two priests, who left everything they knew in Bavaria, Germany, and came to this country with a united heart and a united purpose. Signed by all 14, the Charter of Agreements states, “They will . . . devote their most zealous efforts to the cause of the missions, for the greater honor and glory of Jesus Christ.” Six of the women intended to form a religious community, but all came to care for children of German immigrants and orphans who were living in Milwaukee. Each person had a specific skill to help the fledgling group survive and grow. There was a carpenter, a gardener, a seamstress, a cook, a woodcarver, a shoe maker, a housekeeper and a teacher. In essence, FSPA began with Franciscan women and men sharing prayer, living in community and working together to address the needs of society.

In the midst of walking on their land, running my fingers over their hand-carved railings, and placing flowers on their cement grave markers, my understanding of this beginning deepened and resounded a common chord within me. As a Franciscan lay woman, I come together with other affiliates and sisters to join our voices in praise of God. We support one another on difficult days and rejoice in blessings. We each have our own gifts that support the mission of the congregation. As individuals and as a body, we reach out to those around us who are in need. Going to Milwaukee strengthened my commitment to live the Gospel. Outward to go inward.

After trial, hardship and dissolution of the original founders, the religious community of women moved to Jefferson, Wis., in 1864. Once there the sisters found cold nights and hungry days. But from winter gray and faithful work came the flickering of light. On the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1865, the local pastor allowed the Blessed Sacrament to be housed in the convent chapel. It was adorned with a simple candle made of lard and a spoken promise, “Dear Lord, accept this poor light. It is the best we can give You now, but if You will help us and bless the community, we will one day establish the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and build for You as beautiful a chapel as our means will allow.” These promises were kept. And throughout the subsequent years, making a lard light and retelling the story has become a sacred tradition for FSPA.

Mary Schilling, right, lights the lard light held by Mary Snider. Photo courtesy of Marci Madary

Standing in that Jefferson chapel 141 years later, our band of 14 pilgrims made a lard light and prayed the promise. Knowing that the property on which the chapel stands would be sold in two weeks’ time, and that we would be the last group to perform this unique ritual in this significant space, propelled us into the future. I reflected how I would give back to God for the blessings in my life and considered the impact of sisters and affiliates together carrying the lard light into the future in new and unforeseen venues. By being in Jefferson, I heard God’s call pulling into tomorrow.

As we drove into the view of the familiar sight of St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, the motherhouse since 1871, the group experienced the sensation of coming home. I imagined the relief of the sisters to settle in a place that would facilitate such growth and grace. My fellow pilgrims and I rejoiced in our personal blessings from finding the hospitality behind these doors. Here, we wrote and signed A New Charter of Agreements expressing our desire “to enter deeply into relationship with God, with one another, and with all of God’s creation.”

For me, as a wife, a mother, a Franciscan and an affiliate, I had seen myself in the congregation’s history and imagined the path my feet might walk. Just like the Pilgrim’s Companion to Franciscan Places description of a pilgrimage, “a moving out of one’s known environment to another, and at the same time a moving out of one’s ordinary mindset into another in order to know Christ Jesus,” my travels had brought me back to myself and closer to God.

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