Generaloberin
Us worldwide
Us worldwide
After the foundation of the community, the life and work of religious was increasingly restricted by the government in Germany around 1870. (Kulturkampf)
The sisters had to look for new places of activity and so the first six sisters went to the USA and founded a hospital and school in Lafayette / Indiana and founded a hospital and a school. From this commitment grew two large provinces with many sisters and many fields of activity.
During the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the concept of mission was rethought and redefined, and in 1962 Sisters from Germany went toBrazil and in 1963 Sisters from the USA / Mishawaka went to the Philippines.
In the Philippines, the sisters are involved in many schools, kindergartens and universities and also take care of feeding programs and medical care for poor families and their children.
The commitment in Brazil ended in 2019 and the remaining sisters have come to Germany. The community of the Sisters of St. Joseph have taken responsibility for the Sonho de Aline project and continue to run it.
- The Generalate
- USA
- Philippines
- Brazil
In Olpe, in the Motherhouse, is the official seat of the Generalate and thus of the Superior General Sr. Magdalena Krol.
Together with Sisters from the other Provinces who assist her as General Councilors, the Superior General leads the religious community and is its representative in all ecclesiastical and social matters.
Here in Olpe at the Motherhouse, the General Chapters are held every six years. Elected delegates from all four provinces discuss important matters of the community and elect a new General Council. The General Councilors live in their provinces and have a task there.
Even the Superior General is not permanently in Olpe - she is also obliged to visit the sisters in the provinces and to participate in their provincial chapters. She meets with the General Councilors within certain periods of time and is connected with them through modern means of communication.
A widespread anti-clerical reaction in Germany, the Kulturkampf in Prussia in the early 1870s, severely limited the work of the Franciscan Sisters. Undeterred, however, Mother Maria Theresa accepted an invitation from Bishop Joseph Dwenger to a convent in his diocese of Fort Wayne, Indiana....
Thus, in 1875, six German sisters arrived in Lafayette. Within a few weeks, they temporarily organized a hospital and cared for the poor and sick in the area. Part of what was then St. Elizabeth Hospital later became known as St. Francis Convent. From here, the community of American sisters grew rapidly, establishing many new hospitals, schools, orphanages, homes for the aged, and social service agencies.
In 1886, the size of the religious community, which was now not only German, necessitated the division into two provinces, a German province with the motherhouse in Olpe and an American province with the provincialate in Lafayette, Indiana.
After the death of Mother Theresa Bonzel, the religious community was elevated from an Episcopal to a Congregation of Pontifical Right in 1931.
Now the Province in the USA was also restructured into two Provinces: the Eastern Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Mishawaka and the Western Province of St. Joseph in Colorado Springs.
The sisters of the two American provinces, like the German Franciscan Sisters, want to live a contemplative life in adoration of God and selfless service to others in the practice of the works of mercy. The sisters live in the Franciscan spirit of humility, joy and compassionate love for all living beings in the world.
The following two links will take you to the websites of the two American provinces of the Olper Franciscan Sisters
Eastern Province in Mishawaka / IndianaWestern Province in Colorado Springs / Colorado
The Philippines is a group of 7107 islands, 900 of which are inhabited. Our sisters are represented on three islands. It all began in 1962 on the island of Leyte in Baybay with Sisters from the Eastern Province in the USA, who founded new branches here.
There is still the Provincialate with the novitiate and eight branches (one each on the islands of Bohol and Cebu). At present the Province has about 135 Sisters. They see their main task in teaching, formation and are professionally involved in nine ecclesiastical and two universities in the country.
When the sisters were asked in the 1980s to also work in the area of health care, they established the Bonzel Health Nutrition Center for the needy and sick among the poorest of the poor. A mobile clinic program was established in Baybay. Here, volunteer doctors and other private helpers are active. Medical help is to be made possible here also for those who cannot pay themselves. Thus, dental and medical examinations are carried out, medicines are dispensed and treatments, such as minor surgical procedures, are also performed.
A great importance is given to natural remedies, which are home-made, very effective and can also be paid by the poor. The instruction of a healthy and appropriate diet in the various phases of life is of course just as much a part of the sisters' tasks as the contact with people who live on their own.
Respect for the dignity of the human person and the appreciation of all life given by God are what the sisters want to demonstrate in their commitment to those who are disadvantaged in society. It is precisely in children and the poor that they encounter Christ, to whom they also dedicate their very personal time in Eucharistic Adoration.
Click here to visit the website of the Philippine Province (the link has been requested from Sr. Maribel, but has not yet arrived).
Sonho de Aline" project in Brazil
Founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Olpe and taken over by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Sao Luis, Northern Brazil.
The goal of the Sonho de Aline project is to encourage and support children and adolescents, currently between the ages of 7 and 17, regardless of their ethnicity, gender or religion. The children and adolescents live in the area of the city of São José de Ribamar and are in a situation of vulnerability/anger and extreme poverty.
Through participation in the project, the children and adolescents will be supported in their development physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, psychologically and socially. This support happens under the conditions of freedom and dignity. We try to help them realize their rights to life, health, nutrition, education, sports, leisure, culture, professionalization, family and community life. What changes every year / every semester are the methods or the measures / workshops / activities.
Every year we try to find the best way to achieve the goals of the project. We update our offers according to the reality.
We have created different offers based on ethical and moral values. They are intended to contribute to the realization of dreams of a better life within the framework of the reality in which we live. In this way, we want to help create better living conditions with the disadvantaged children and youth.
We do this by offering preventive measures based on social assistance and pedagogical counseling in the region where we are. In this way, we give them the opportunity of integration in the family, school and society, supporting them to realize their dream of a dignified life as Brazilian citizens.
PROJECT GOALS
- Ensure a basic nutritious diet;
- Identify the areas in which the children and adolescents are vulnerable and the relationships in which they live;
- Establish a relationship of trust with children and youth to work with them to find ways to improve their lives;
- Promote family and community life to restore emotional and social bonds that are at risk;
- Support children and adolescents to enter or stay in school through accompaniment and specific social and educational activities;
- Develop basic skills in the children and adolescents through artistic, cultural and vocational activities;
- Promote recreational activities to strengthen the girls and boys socially and increase satisfaction;
- Develop measures for the maintenance of the project;
- Develop contacts with public and private institutions, develop and maintain partnerships from them to expand our goals.
PROJECT OUTCOMES IN 2022:
In the face of the pandemic that has affected the entire planet, we at the Sonho de Aline Project are pursuing the same goal as our predecessors, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. We want to continue Mother Theresa's dream of providing social protection to children and adolescents in vulnerable and at-risk situations. We want to support and enable children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 17, who are in situations of risk and extreme poverty, to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially, under conditions of freedom and dignity. They should be supported in such a way that they can exercise their rights with regard to their life, health, nutrition, education, sports, leisure, professionalization, family and community life.
We Olper Franciscan Sisters would like to continue to support this work for the children and young people and would appreciate your donation.
Donation account Brazil:
Pax Bank DE69 3706 0193 0010 6650 00