Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio

<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio


Mother Adelaide Click on photo for bio

On December 8, 1916, a small group of Franciscan Sisters from Rochester, Minnesota, responded to an invitation for teaching Sisters from Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Toledo Diocese. With their leader, Mother Mary Adelaide Sandusky, the foundress of the Sylvania Franciscans, they established a new province.

Two years later, in 1918, the Bishop again invited the Sisters to respond to a critical need in the local Church. This time, they ministered to influenza victims from gypsum mines located in Ohio and to their families. This service provided an entrance into health care ministry as hospitals soon requested the Sisters' presence.

A year after their arrival in Toledo, in 1917, they moved their Motherhouse to an 89-acre farm in Sylvania, Ohio. The rapid growth of the province resulted in the Sylvania Franciscans becoming autonomous in 1930 from their Rochester roots.

Today, their diverse ministries are a direct response to the needs of God's people: education on all levels, social work, health care. religious education, counseling, special education, communications, and parish and retreat work.


Called like Francis of Assisi to live the Gospel in joyful servanthood among all people, the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio, as messengers of peace, commit themselves to works that reverence human dignity, embrace the poor and marginalized and respect the gift of creation.
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Lourdes College Sylvania Franciscan Academy Franciscan Center Franciscan Services Corporation

The Rule of St. Francis
{Third Order Rule TOR)
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