Stories

I serve on the La Crosse County Jail Ministry Board. The compassion and love we all have for people currently in jail encourages us. Our work is to help them in every way we can. We do this in part by supporting our chaplain, Ann Wales, whose compassion and dedication are an inspiration to all.

Imagine it’s the year 2023. You’ve been standing in line at a public grocery store for 12 hours. You have three hungry housemates back home, waiting for your return.

The sounds of teasing and laughter, the curiosity of books, the rapture of music, the joy of adventure, the embrace of family, the devotion to and intimacy with God: In childhood, Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, born Bertha Elizabeth, was happily wanted and deeply loved.

I often hear the phrase, “tengo miedo” (I am afraid). When people say this, I search for the right response or a concrete answer, but I am left feeling powerless. 

Sister Jolynn recognized her religious vocation in the eighth grade. She attended a Catholic grade school staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. She had an aunt in the same congregation. In addition, Sister Jolynn also felt especially close to her eighth-grade teacher, Sister Alice McMullin. That year, a trip to the FSPA motherhouse, St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with a few friends, sealed the deal.

La Crosse celebrated Earth Day this year with an Earth Day Worship Service focused on community, creation and connection. Organized through a collaboration between the Franciscan Spirituality Center, LuMin (Lutheran Campus Ministry), the Unitarian Universalist congregation and Viterbo University’s St. Francis Choir, the event brought together people of various faith backgrounds.

Sister Mary Boniface Kriener decided, like her mother had, to attend St. Angela’s, where she lived for four years of high school, coming home in the summers. After high school graduation, she entered St. Rose Convent. “It just felt natural. I was familiar with the community and I had a love for the Blessed Sacrament. Perpetual Adoration would give me the time for prayer and contemplation, for which I longed. Community life was not new, since I had lived as a boarder at St. Angela’s and was used to dorm life and rules and regulations. And I got to attend college, which was important to me.”

The beauty of Mary of the Angels Chapel is more than an artistry, it's a living testament to a promise made 160 years ago. 

Each day, prayers come to Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from across the globe—messages of hope, gratitude and longing. Some request healing for a loved one, others seeking guidance in difficult times and more. 
 

Earlier this year, Viterbo University students and staff joined sisters at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse as part of Viterbo’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Learning and Celebration.

During this day of service, WisCorps Service Member and FSPA Ecological Assistant, Cassi Creason, led the sisters, students and staff through three hands-on activities that explored the concepts of biodiversity, resource conservation and the interconnectedness of all Creation.

In the days leading up to March 19, 1865, Mother Antonia Herb became seriously ill. At the same time, the sisters prayed for her health and for permission to keep the Blessed Sacrament in their chapel. On St. Joseph Day, their prayers were answered, and Mother Antonia Herb made a twofold promise.

This immigration prayer booklet was collected by Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Georgia Christensen. Poems were submitted by Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, FSPA affiliates, prayer partners and partners in mission.