Franciscan Sisters of Chicago

March 8th through the 14th is Catholic Sisters Week. During this week we honor all the Sisters who have enriched our lives through the years. Whether they served in education, healthcare, social justice, helping the poor and sick, or the empowerment of women, Catholic Sisters, through their dedication to others have contributed so much to society.

This week we honor all Catholic Sisters by offering special prayers written by Mary Ellen Plumb, OSB from the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania. Click here to read more.

God our Father, you sent your beloved Son the Lord Jesus into the world to give us life in abundance, to reconcile all things in him, and to show us the way to your Kingdom. Through the intercession and protection of St. Joseph, fill us with the Spirit of Christ as we live in the midst of the world and its concerns; help us, like him, to center our lives on Christ and build up your eternal kingdom. Amen. Click Here to Download this Novena.

The Franciscan Sisters of Chicago are very happy to announce that they are officially having the 'Swinging for the Sisters' Golf Outing on June 23rd. Come out and enjoy a beautiful day with a round of golf and support the Sisters' ministries. Registration will start at 7 A.M. and the Shotgun Start will be at 9 A.M. There will also be a prize raffle and a Split the Pot drawing.

$275 Per Ticket or $1000 Per Foursome (Includes Golf, Breakfast and Lunch)

For More Information call (630) 243-3556!

'Let it Snow' at Our Lady of Victory Convent

It has been quite a snowy couple of weeks here at Our Lady of Victory Convent in Lemont. Many thanks to the Plant Operations team that have worked so hard in plowing and shoveling the parking lots, driveways, and roadways around the Convent. They did a wonderful job! Sister M. Helene Galuszka and Claudine Milkowski took photos and documented some of the snowy scenery. Click Here to view more.

Lent is a time of prayer and renewal and an opportunity to refocus relationships with God that lead us to the Easter Sunday celebration of our risen Christ. This year, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, and continues through Holy Saturday, April 3, with Easter Sunday on April 4. Please visit our Lenten prayer resource page for prayers and reflections that you may use throughout the Lenten season: https://chicagofranciscans.org/lent-2021

The Franciscan Sisters of Chicago have announced this year's winners of the 2021 Theresa Dudzik Innovation Grant. Presentations were made last week and the final decisions have been released. Click here to read this article.

On Monday, February 8th, the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago received their second COVID-19 vaccination shot in Marian Hall at Our Lady of Victory Convent, in Lemont. After receiving their vaccination, some Sisters took photos posing with their "I got my COVID-19 vaccine" sticker. Click Here to view the photo gallery.

This year, National Catholic Schools Week was from January 31st through February 6th. The Franciscan Sisters of Chicago have a long history of serving in the ministry of education. In observance, we offer an article about the very first school the Sisters taught in. The Sisters entered the ministry of education in 1903 at SS Peter and Paul parish in Spring Valley, Illinois. Click here to read this article.

Also in observance of that week, we offered a list of current Franciscan Sisters of Chicago who served as teachers and a photo gallery of some of them from years past. Click here to view. We thank all the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago who dedicated their life in education and served as teachers and school administrators.

Christmastime at OLV Amid COVID 19
By Sister Jeanne Marie Toriskie

Each December, Sister Francis Clare sets up the large nativity scene on the left side of the chapel where it replaces the Advent wreaths as Christmas Eve approaches. This year of 2020, however, the nativity scene found a new place, in the front of the chapel, near the towering lit Christmas trees. Its new location allowed the fixed chapel camera to transfer its image to the COVID-bound Sisters and residents of the Franciscan Village campus via channel 29.
Click Here to read this article

In good times and bad, Sister Theresa and the senior religious shown above here have dedicated themselves to God's work. Together with nearly 30,000 elderly sisters, brothers, and religious order priests in the United States, they educated the young, tended the sick, and ministered to the needy. Today, they pray for a world that is hurting. Yet many religious communities do not have enough retirement savings and struggle to provide for aging members. Covid-19 has only increased these challenges. Your tax deductible gift to the Retirement Fund for Religious helps furnish medications, nursing care, and more.
Click Here to Learn more about how you can donate to this fund.

Read Mother Theresa Dudzik's personal memories of seeing the poor and needy in her neighborhood and feeling called to help them. Read about how she founded the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago to aid her in her works of mercy. Read further her own recollections of the deep interior struggles, hardships, and triumphs she experienced as she established the first Chicago nursing home to care for the homeless elderly and orphans of her time. Learn how these initial ministries in healthcare, education, and social work began during the eras of massive economic turmoil, labor strikes and of horrific World War I. Be inspired by Mother Theresa's unwavering faith and trust in God.

The Chronicle is available for purchase in three formats through Amazon.com. Click Here to purchase online. The full color paperback costs $30, the black and white paperback costs $7, and the Kindle edition costs $4.19.

Both paperback editions are also available in the gift shop at: Our Lady of Victory Convent, 11400 Theresa Drive, Lemont, IL, 60439. Call to arrange for curbside cash payment and paperback pickup at (630) 243-3600.