A Brief History of the Joliet Franciscans

Joliet Franciscans have lived the challenge and dream given to St. Francis of Assisi by Jesus, "Rebuild my Church," since our founding in Joliet in 1865 by Mother Alfred Moes with help from her spiritual advisor, Father Pamfilo da Magliano, OFM. During the young Congregation's first 11 growth-filled years, Sisters were sent to 36 different missions in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio. The Sisters taught children in parish schools and played integral parts in the parish life of the Catholic Church as it grew strong roots in America.

At home in Joliet, these first Illinois Franciscans built a motherhouse, took in orphans and boarding students, staffed parish schools, and welcomed new members into their novitiate. They used precious resources to establish a variety of ministries and built a number of Catholic institutions that continue to serve the people of Joliet.

From the earliest days, our Sisters served various ethnic groups during their times of adjustment to American life. Sisters learned to speak whatever language was required in order to teach the children in their care. They studied and mastered every academic area in order to provide a well-rounded education through their schools. The Congregation soon moved beyond the Midwest, accepting invitations to minister wherever the needs were great: Alabama in the South; Colorado and Arizona in the West; Indian reservations in the North; Pennsylvania and Washington, DC in the East; to name a few.

In 1963, Joliet Franciscans listened to a call that led us to Brazil, where we soon established several missions and a novitiate, welcoming Brazilian women to join our life and work. Our Brazilian community continues to flourish.

While traditionally trained as teachers, we eventually broadened the scope of our ministries to serve as nurses and holistic health practitioners, social workers and jail ministers, and an ever-expanding variety of other service professions.

We invite other dreamers, builders, initiators, encouragers, believers and animators to be part of our unfolding history and challenging future as Joliet Franciscan Sisters, Associates and Volunteers. 




 

Did you know

 

The first permanent homestead for the Sisters in Joliet was a small stone house on the southeast corner of Broadway and Division Streets. The immediate hardships of the new beginning were entwined with the historical events of that period.  Our nation was in a Civil War and the suffering was great.  A nation still in its childhood was being ravaged by a struggle that would shape its character for the future. 

The Sisters’ salary at this time was small.  Needing to survive and to be in a position to help others during devastating times, Sister Alfred remembered the skills she and her sister, Sister Barbara, had learned while living with the Notre Dame Sisters in Milwaukee in 1853. 

They did embroidery and other fine needlework, mostly for church decorations, and made artificial flowers.  When Sister Alfred taught these skills to her companions in Joliet, she laid the groundwork for a future through which Joliet Franciscans would earn income for their building projects. 

On July 31, 1864, a tragic event brought the Sisters into a new ministry.  A fire in St. John’s Church, caused when lightning struck the steeple, left five people dead, among them Mrs. Philomena Hartmann.  At the request of Mr. Hartmann, Mother Alfred took his three motherless children to raise as the first orphans.  This was the beginning of a boarding school.  One of these children would eventually enter the Congregation and become a Sister.
 

   
 
St. Francis Convent and Academy on Broadway and Division Streets was sold in 1880 to the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who converted it to St. Joseph Hospital. (It was
eventually demolished in 1964.)