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Select One Meaning of "Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration" History of Our Adoration Prayer Requests

History of Our Adoration

Since 1878, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have been praying nonstop longer than anyone in the United States.

The practice began after Mother Antonia Herb, then leader of the congregation, made several requests to the local bishop for permission to begin perpetual adoration. Concerned it would impose too great a burden on the sisters, he refused.

Determined to establish perpetual adoration, the sisters tried it out, praying two at a time for two hours. They demonstrated they could do it, and on August 1, 1878, at 11 a.m., the congregation—then called the Sisters of St. Francis—began praying around the clock and soon thereafter became the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Two people have prayed before the Blessed Sacrament ever since. In recent years, members of FSPA's lay community have joined in the vigil, and the congregation today has 122 prayer partners.

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