Confianca summer 2014

Confianรงa A Publication

of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate - Joliet, IL

Jubilee, 2014

Confiança A publication of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate 1433 Essington Road Joliet IL 60435 (815) 725-8735 www.jolietfranciscans.org E di tor/ La you t D esig n

Luc y Sa nc h ez D i re c to r of Commu n ica ti ons l sanc hez@j oliet fran ci s cans .org

C op y Ed it or s S r . Carle n e H owel l J e n ni fe r Cm ol i k

INSIDE THIS ISSUE C onnec ti ons

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Sis te rs S ell G AH

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Asso cia te s ’ Cor ne r

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Me e t My M inis t r y

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Jub ila r ians

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N e w A s s oc ia tes

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At J our ne y’s E n d

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Mission Statement Led by the Spirit, we embrace the Gospel life by commitment to Franciscan values and respond to the needs of our time through prayer, community and ministry.

© 2014 - Joliet Franciscans

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A Welcome from Sister Dolores Zemont Dear Friends, We are about to begin an exciting year leading up to the 150th anniversary of the founding of our Congregation

by Mother Alfred Moes on August 2, 1865. During the next 12 months, we will be visiting and celebrating with some of the parishes where our Sisters have served over these 150 years. We have a commi!ee planning these events and as soon our schedule fills out, we will keep you informed. We hope to see you at one of our celebrations so that we can personally thank you for the role you play in our history.

Speaking of history, as many of you know, Guardian Angel Home was founded by our Sisters in 1865 as an orphanage. It was our first mission and has always been very special to us. As the times changed, it became a social service agency - renamed Guardian Angel Community Services - still with a focus on the needs of children, but also extending programs to families, particularly women who find themselves in a vulnerable situation. The present Guardian Angel Home building owned by the Sisters was built in 1925. We made the difficult decision to divest ourselves of the building and have sold it to the University of St. Francis (USF). Some of the administrative offices of the University have already begun to move into Guardian Angel, and in the near future it will house the John and Cecily Leach College of Nursing. We are thrilled that this historical building will remain in our Franciscan family.

Guardian Angel Community Services has already begun its move to new offices in downtown Joliet where it will continue to grow and serve the community as it has from its humble beginnings.

This issue of Confiança shares reflections of our 2014 Jubilarians. We were again blessed with beautiful weather as friends, families, Sisters and Associates gathered on June 21 at the Cathedral of St. Raymond to honor our Jubilarians. If you have ever witnessed our Sisters renewing their vows as Joliet Franciscans at Jubilee, you know it is a special, graced moment.

We are so grateful for your support and we will continue to remember you in our prayers. Enjoy these summer days which our Creator has generously given to each of us.

Peace and everything good,

Sister Dolores Zemont, OSF President On the Cover: Sister Dolores Zemont hands the microphone to Sister Maurice White, our 75 year Jubilarian, during the celebration.

Advancing the Mission Hello Everyone!

Summer is already in full swing. I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends doing all the different things available to us during the summer months.

In June, we held our second “Afternoon Tea at the Abbey” at the Jacob Henry Mansion in Joliet to support the Joliet Franciscan Sisters. Over 200 women gathered on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to enjoy a light lunch, share some conversation with friends, listen to a little ragtime music, buy chances to perhaps win a raffle prize, and maybe wear a great hat. We appreciate all of your support!

We are also grateful to our sponsors. They were: Mrs. Margaret Benoit, Mrs. Jean Konrad, Mrs. Marianne Murphy, Mrs. Natalie Bayci, Mrs. Gloria Dollinger, Judge Dinah Lennon Archambeault, Mrs. Jackie Bersano, Mrs. Della May Brown, Mrs. Andrea Burla, Mrs. Elizabeth Kasper, Ms. Kathleen McGowan, Mrs. Lora McGuire, Mrs. Chet Millweard, Mrs. Frances Naal Sczepaniak, Mrs. Kay Ray, Mrs. Jean Roach, Mrs. Lynette Shea, Miss Elaine Smith, Ms. Linda Sticklen, Ms. Arlene Ulrich, Mrs. Marilyn Wyllie, Mrs. Luise Baldin, Mrs. Jo Ellyn Bencomo, Mrs. Ann T. Casey, Mrs. Eileen G. Cosgriff, Mrs. Patricia Duerinck, Mrs. Alison Froeschle, Mrs. Anne Johnson, Mrs. Joyce A. Korst, Mrs. Mary Krippel, Ms. Elizabeth Bach Luong, Mrs. Marjorie Marion, Ms. Claretta Meier, Mrs. Rita Ohlson, Mrs. Margaret Peifer, Ms. Linda Quinlan, Ms. Lynne Sparks, Mrs. Marilyn Tarizzo, Mrs. Shirley Taylor, Mrs. Maryellen Thomas, and Mrs. Madonna WojtaszekHealy.

Thank you to our wonderful committee consisting of Chairperson Marianne Murphy, Margaret Benoit, Jackie Bersano, Claire Millweard and Fran Naal Sczepaniak who worked to make the Tea a special afternoon for everyone. Thanks also to Communications Director Lucy Sanchez for her creative eye in creating all the printed material for the Tea.

appliances, tickets for sporting events or concerts, stays at vacation homes, it would be of great help in making this year’s Feast a success. Please contact me if you are able to assist.

Our “Connections” Nan Nagl feature tells the story of Director of Mission Advancement Sal DiLeo. Sal has been connected with the Sisters since he was a young boy living at Guardian Angel Home in Joliet.

His journey was a bumpy one at times, but it is one that has filled him with gratitude for the people in his life and the opportunities he has been given.

We appreciate the financial support you give to the Sisters. You truly impact their lives and the lives of those whom they serve. So as we enter the Congregation’s 150th year, I ask you to consider continuing – and perhaps increasing, if possible – your financial support of the Sisters.

You are truly appreciated and remembered in prayer by the Sisters.

With that, enjoy the rest of your summer. Until next time, enjoy the miracle of each new day.

We appreciate the generosity of those who donated items for the Abbey Raffle. Many of our guests also donated almost 200 boxes of cereal, which were given to St. Patrick’s food pantry in Joliet. Collecting food for local food pantries at the Feast, Tea and Prayer Breakfasts is a tradition we are very glad we started and one we plan to keep!

Next year’s “Afternoon Tea at the Abbey” is already scheduled for Sunday, June 7, at the Jacob Henry Mansion. Please join us.

The 25th Annual Franciscan Autumn Feast, taking place on Sunday, October 19, at the Patrick C. Haley Mansion in Joliet, is a few months away. Invitations will be out in September. We are in need of items for our Silent Auction. If you are able to donate electronics, small

Tea Committee: Margaret Benoit, Jackie Bersano, Marianne Murphy, Claire Millweard, and Fran Naal Sczepaniak.

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Connections and how to respect people. They also empowered him to make decisions and taught him the importance of making the right choice. From the Sisters, he learned how life was supposed to work.

“Values start with faith,” he says.

These are the principles that Sal carried with him through his years at Guardian Angel Home, Boys Town, the University of Nebraska and into adulthood.

They are what still guides him today.

Beth and Sal DiLeo. Beth holds artwork made by Sister Kay Francis Berger, OSF.

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al DiLeo has said, “the worst day of my life was actually the best day of my life!” Read on, please, and you will learn why Sal’s worst and best days are one and the same.

Imagine finding yourself at a very young age at an orphanage housing 300 boys and girls. Among them are your older brother and your two sisters - one younger, the other older. You are not sure why you are there. You only know you are no longer living with the rest of your family, a family of 12 children where you are the second youngest child. Much later, you learn that you and your three siblings had been pulled from a dysfunctional and disruptive home.

At a family reunion years later, your oldest sister would share that the four of you had been better off in the orphanage. This is Sal’s story.

Sal, his sisters Kitty and Maria, as well as brother Mario, spent their early years at Guardian Angel Home in Joliet. It was the beginning of Sal’s connection to the Joliet Franciscan Sisters, a connection which is still intact today. Sal says, “The Sisters were loving. They were also stern, but fair.” He also says that the Sisters instilled in him faith, the importance of education and hard work,

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Partway through his years at Guardian Angel Home, Sister Mary Paul Korman became the new director. In his book “Did I Ever Thank You, Sister,” Sal refers to Sister Paul as a “new-age”nun for the orphanage at that time. Sister Paul felt that to make it in the outside world, the children living at Guardian Angel Home should attend school away from the orphanage. So every morning the children would dress in their new school uniforms, climb aboard the Guardian Angel bus and get dropped off at various Catholic schools around Joliet, where they were taught by Joliet Franciscan Sisters. Sal and Kitty found themselves at St. Raymond’s School – the Cathedral school. Sal was in the 6th grade, Kitty in the 3rd grade. His teacher was Sister Robert Therese, of whom he speaks fondly. He eventually blended into school life at St. Raymond’s, returning to Guardian Angel Home at the end of each day.

graduation, she did not attend. But Sister Paul was there for him. She made sure he and the other boys from Guardian Angel Home had boutonnières to wear on their suits.

Two days later, Sal left for Boys Town in Omaha where he would be reunited with his brother, Mario. Boys Town was a new experience and provided several challenges. There were a number of differences between Guardian Angel Home and Boys Town. Sal missed the affection of the Sisters almost immediately, although, as he says in his book, he did not think they were too affectionate when he lived at the orphanage.

The Sisters encouraged education. The counselors at Boys Town encouraged sports.

While at Boys Town, Sal started to change a bit – angry, as he puts it. One of the older boys brought it to Sal’s attention, telling him he was not the same kid who came to Boys Town. It resonated with him and he remembered something Sister Nepomecine told him when Mario, his older brother, left Guardian Angel Home for Boys Town a few years earlier. “Everybody is dealt a bad hand in life. But the people who do the best recognize that and do the best with what they have been given,” she told him. Sal decided to take that advice and make some changes.

When the time came to graduate from St. Raymond’s, Sister Robert Therese, who had been Sal’s teacher throughout his years at St. Raymond’s, asked him to be one of the speakers at their 8th-grade gathering on the last day of school. Sal was grateful for the opportunity to do so. Although Sal invited his mother to come to his evening

St. Francis Lodge in Minnesota

go going to Church. Sal admitted that he no longer was attending Church.

Si Sister Paul told him to go back, find a priest, go to confession and receive Co Communion.

“You know you can’t go through life without God,” she to him. told

Beth and Sal on the steps of the Chapel.

Sal continued on at Boys Town and when the time came in 1972, he entered the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

He enjoyed his years there, made friends and put himself through school. After graduation, he took a teaching job for a year, but it did not pay much. He was in his 20s, and, as he says, “I didn’t like who I was.” He admittedly made some bad decisions, allowing money to control those decisions.

The best decision Sal made was to marry Beth. For all the “for richer, for poorer, for better or for worse” the DiLeos would face together over the years, Beth has always been there for Sal. In what would be the absolute darkest hour of Sal’s life, and would have permanently affected the lives of Beth and their two daughters had he made the wrong decision, Sal instead prayed. And from somewhere deep within his soul, something told him to call Sister Paul. And so he did.

During this conversation, the first since Sal left Guardian Angel Home years before, Sister Paul asked how he was doing. He told her everything was fine.

Somehow Sister Paul knew this was not the case as she asked him if he was still

In the mid-90s, “through a stroke of luck” as he puts it, Sal met Bud Gr Grant, the former Minnesota Vikings fo football coach. They began a busine relationship and Bud proved to ness be one of the most influential people in Sal’s life, other than the Sisters at Guardian Angel Home. As Bud an Sal worked on more projects and together, they grew to be great friends.

Bud was aware that Sal had grown up in an orphanage. When Sal told him he was thinking of visiting Sister Paul, whom he had not seen in 30 years, while in Chicago for a conference, Bud encouraged him to do so. It was time to face the bad memories and appreciate the good things Sal had accumulated in his life. As Bud told him, “You were probably lucky you had that place to go to.”

Sal drove from Chicago to Joliet and sat in front of Guardian Angel Home – no longer an orphanage, but a social service agency – for hours. In his solitude, looking over his life, he realized that although he had a number of bad breaks, he had so many people in his life to be thankful for – Beth, his daughters, his friends, Bud and the person he was about to meet again after many years, Sister Paul.

At Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, just down the street from Guardian Angel Home, Sal reconnected with Sister Paul. “Did I ever thank you, Sister?” he asked. “I am sure you did, Sal,” Sister Paul responded. They talked for hours that evening. She encouraged him to learn what happened to his parents and to find it within him to forgive them for whatever caused them to place him and his three siblings in the orphanage. His

mother had died eight years earlier. His father had disappeared in 1963. Sal knew, however, that Sister Paul was right. Sister Paul was Sal’s rock.

Sal traveled to Greenwich Village to meet a cousin of his mother’s whom he did not know. From her he learned about his mother’s family and more about his father. It was a trip that left him filled with a myriad of emotions which he shared with Sister Paul a few days later during a phone conversation. With all that he had learned about his family, Sister Paul encouraged him to forgive his parents because only then would he have peace in his own life. She told him to be a good husband, father and family man.

Sal promised he would.

Sal began to compile his life on paper.

For six days he wrote and wrote, and at the end, he had finished his book, “Did I Ever Thank You, Sister.” It covered all of the highs and lows, the brightest and darkest parts of his journey and at the end he expressed his gratitude for all those who have impacted his life. Sal sent a copy of his book to Sister Paul, who by this time had suffered a series of strokes. He called Sister Paul to find out if she had read the book and to get her thoughts. He spoke with Sister Andrea Prindes who was caring for Sister Paul at the time. She told him Sister Paul could not speak. With the phone held to her ear

by Sister Andrea, Sal asked Sister Paul for her thoughts about the book. She responded, “It is the truth.” It was the first time she had spoken in a month. When Sister Paul died in 2003, Sister Andrea called Sal immediately.

In 1999, Sal and Beth purchased a piece of land on Lake George in northwestern Minnesota and built the St. Francis Lodge as a tribute to the Sisters who were and still are an important part of their lives. Every year, some of the Joliet Franciscan Sisters travel to Minnesota to

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make their retreat and to visit with Sal, Beth and the many people of the area they have come to know. Sal and Beth keep in touch regularly with the Sisters and have also been able to visit with the many Sisters who were part of his early life when they have traveled to Joliet. He has a special place in his heart for Sister Rose Spatny and Sister David Ann Hoy, both of whom he knows from Guardian Angel Home.

Sal is filled with gratitude for his life’s journey and for those who have made the journey with him. The worst day of Sal’s life was actually the best day of his life. It is the truth.

Sal DiLeo is an inspirational speaker and author. His book, “Did I Ever Thank You, Sister?” is available through his website at www. saldileo.com or on www.amazon.com.

Sisters Albert Marie Papesh, Anne Wayrowski and Carol Mecko visit the St. Francis Lodge.

Sisters Sell Guardian Angel Home T Joliet Franciscan Sisters and the University of The S Francis (USF) - a sponsored institution of the SisSt. te - recently completed negotiations on a purchase ters agreement for the Guardian Angel Home (GAH) ag building and a parcel of land located at the corner of bu Plainfi eld Road and Theodore Street in Joliet.

P USF, founded in 1920 by the Sisters, will relocate U the th Cecily and John Leach College of Nursing to the GAH building in Fall 2016. The College of Nursing G is currently located at the university’s main campus at 500 Wilcox Street in Joliet.

Guardian Angel Home is located on the corner of Theodore and Plainfield Road in Joliet.

Guardian Angel Community Services (GACS), which G has operated in the GAH building since 1926, first as a home for the orphaned, neglected and dependent children of Joliet, and later as a social service agency providing services to children and families, will relocate to its new facility in downtown Joliet.

The Franciscan Learning Center, also a sponsored institution of the Sisters, will remain at its current location.

In speaking about the sale of the GAH building, Sister Dolores Zemont, President of the Congregation said, “We are pleased that the Guardian Angel Home building will remain in our Franciscan family and that it will be used for the purpose of education. We are also grateful that Guardian Angel Community Services has found a new home. This means that two of the very first and longest ministries of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate will continue to prosper in the future.”

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Associates’ Corner By: Janine Hicks, Assistant Director of Associates

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he first annual Bluestem Earth Festival entertained, educated and challenged people to live with justice and care. On May 10, on the grounds of the University of St. Francis, over 50 vendors, speakers and exhibitors came to share ways to become better stewards of the earth and to address contemporary social concerns such as human trafficking, racism, and safe water. Food vendors, music and children’s activities rounded out the day. An Art Contest challenged local school children to use a variety of artistic methods to portray care of the earth.

The event was developed by the Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, a committee of the Joliet Franciscan Sisters and their Associates. They linked with the Portiuncula Center for Prayer in Frankfort to develop a program that included not only earth and social justice issues, but the spiritual dimension as well.

Some of the speakers included Dr. Philippa Norman speaking on “Healthy Brain for a Healthy Life,” Dr. Lora Chamberlain from Frack Free Illinois and Sr. Larraine Lauter from “Water With Blessings.” Safe water is a fundamental human right, yet around the planet people of all ages die because of contaminated water. “Water With Blessings” has found a solution that empowers families who need safe drinking water.

Sr. Mary Ruth Broz, Program Director and Spiritual Director at the Portiuncula and Fr. Terry Johnson, pastor of St. Irenaeus Parish and frequent presenter at the Portiuncula spoke about the Cosmic Walk. The Cosmic Walk, developed by Sister Miriam Therese McGillis of Genesis Farm in New Jersey, is a symbolic

Top: Sr. MJ enjoys a freerange chicken wrap. Right: Helen Ross, a member of ARC (Anti-Racism Committee) shares information with the public.

(Left): Sister Sharon Frederick and Janine Hicks take some time to enjoy the displays at the Bluestem Earth Festival.

re-enactment that helps us enter personally into the story of creation. Participants walk along pictures laid out in a spiral that represents the entire story of the unfolding and gradual differentiation of the Universe and the Earth from the beginning to the present. A Cosmic Walk will be built at the Portiuncula Center for Prayer, a retreat center featuring 50 wooded acres.

Sr. Teresinha Mendonca Del’Acqua spoke about “Healthy Living in and for the Planet.” Sr. Teresinha is a member of the Governing Board of the Joliet Franciscans and was the first Brazilian Sister to be elected to the Governing Board.

Indoors and out on the quad of the University were exhibitors and vendors to appeal to everyone. There were free trees given by Jim Tieber, a certified arborist of the City of Joliet and heirloom plants from Contrary Mary’s and Bloomberg Gardens. The Master Gardeners from the University of Illinois Extension also brought free heirloom vegetables to pass out to participants and spoke about straw bale gardening and worm composting. Children’s games were provided by the Joliet Park District. GeneratorX provided afternoon music and a dulcimer player, Nate Pultorak entertained the guests. The pastries from St. Rogers’s Abbey and jams, preserves, marmalades and gluten free items from “Mary’s Wholesome Living” were popular stops as well as the Sodexo stand for free-range chicken wraps.

There were even healthy delicacies for pets, from “For Tails Only.”

The Earth Festival would not have been possible without generous donors: the Sisters of St. Francis, the University of St. Francis; the Portiuncula Center for Prayer in Frankfort; Presence Health; D’Arcy Motors; State Farm, Lucy Brogla; Joliet Township; the Joliet Park District; Sodexo; Barnes and Noble; and Joliet Tent. Their donations allowed the event to be free of charge to the community.

Next year’s Bluestem Earth Festival will be held on May 30 at the University of St. Francis. More info is given at www.

BluestemEarthFestival.com or on their Facebook page.

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Meet My Ministry Meet our Sister Barbara Kwiatkowski, OSF. Sister Barb is a campus minister at Joliet Catholic Academy (JCA). Although working with students can sometimes be challenging and demanding, she said she finds it “very rewarding!”

By: Sister Barbara Kwiatkowski, OSF

Sister Barb places a scapular on a student during Mass at Joliet Catholic Academy where she ministers.

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few weeks ago, I shared with a group of junior girls hanging out in our Campus Ministry Office that I was writing an article on my ministry for our Congregation publication and asked them what they thought I should include. They remarked, “Tell them that you love us and have so much fun with us that it’s not like work at all!” While I do love them and do have fun with them, I wouldn’t say that my ministry as Campus Minister at Joliet Catholic Academy isn’t work; sometimes it is very demanding and taxing work, but without question, it is also very rewarding.

I’m often asked, “Just what does a Campus Minister do?”

Campus Ministers do pretty much what a pastoral associate would do in a parish: liturgies, prayer services, training of lectors and Extraordinary Ministers, retreats, days of recollection, service projects, pastoral counseling, visiting the sick and attending wakes and funerals. Many of these require planning, organization and training for those involved. In addition, there are always those unexpected things that pop up fairly frequently, such as a student having a bad day and needing a place to “chill” or a request to accompany our Admissions Department on a recruitment visit. Thank God that I am not responsible for all of this myself! Fr. Jeff Smialek, a Carmelite priest, works in Campus Ministry along with me. We have similar views on what a good Campus Ministry program should include and have learned how to work very well together. Our office has become a safe haven where students and teachers come to share their joys and sorrows, a laugh, or just to grab a snack from our well supplied snack table. Our students keep me young and are some of our biggest supporters, often telling their parents and students at other high schools that they feel well cared for at school and that JCA has awesome Campus Ministers. You know that you are doing something right when you have 15-year old boys stopping in to exclaim, “Sr. Barb and Fr. Jeff, that Mass was rockin’!”

Of all the events and services we provide, the opportunities we have to share faith with students and watch them grow spiritually are the most fulfilling for me. This most certainly happens on our Kairos retreats. We offer six Kairos retreats throughout the year for seniors and second semester juniors.

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Our seniors must attend an overnight retreat experience to graduate and ninety-nine percent of them choose to go on one of our Kairos retreats. Fr. Jeff and I each do three retreats; he directs the retreats for the boys and I direct the girls’ retreats.

The retreats focus on the students’ relationship with God and others and how they are growing as a person. This is done through a series of personal witness talks prepared by the team of five adults and eight students who themselves have already gone on a Kairos retreat. The students are divided into small groups of 8-10 and spend a lot of time in these groups discussing and sharing after each talk. Consequently,

Sister Barb (pictured second from left in the last row) was joined

by Sister Teresinha during one of the recent Kairos Retreats held this year.

the students form strong bonds and close relationships, many of them with students they didn’t know or had hardly talked to before the retreat. We also pray together, attend Mass and have opportunities for silent reflection and journaling. The highlights of the retreat for students include receiving letters of support and love written by parents, family and friends, an affirmation activity and a small group shared prayer experience. And, we certainly do not starve while out on retreat!

Between the great meals prepared by the ladies at the Carmelite Spiritual Center in Darien and all the snacks the students bring with them to the retreat, we have more than enough to eat. In fact, similar to the Gospel story of the loaves and fishes, we always go home with more food than we brought with us, and thus we are able to stock the snack table in our Campus Ministry Office!

The Kairos retreats are always exhausting, but so worthwhile!

Yes, there is the stress of being responsible for 35-40 students for three and a half days away from school and only getting about 6 hours of sleep at night, but what happens in the lives of the candidates on the retreat is very powerful! I have had students that I taught in the 80’s tell me that they still have their notebooks, their bibles and the letters that they received on the retreat that they made when they were seniors and that, periodically, they will get them out and read through everything again. Everyone comes away from the retreat feeling better about themselves as a person, appreciating their families and friends more than they did before and wanting to put more effort into their relationship with God. When asked, “What is the greatest lesson that you learned on Kairos?”, nearly every student remarks, “I learned not to judge others because you never know what other people are going through in their lives.”

I have lost count of exactly how many Kairos retreats I have been on, but it is somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty.

People have asked me if I’m tired of going on them and if I

“The students keep me young,” says Sister Barb, pictured here giving communion to a group of students at JCA.

feel burnt out. I really have to say that I’m not. First of all, even though we do the same activities on every retreat, each one has a slightly different “flavor” because of the different people on the retreat and their own unique journeys through life. But more importantly, I don’t believe that I will ever grow tired of sharing such an experience with people who are searching for meaning in life or of watching them grow and gain confidence in who they are as persons.

Walking with our Sr. Noel Dreska after her accident is what awakened in me a desire to work in Campus Ministry. I had been a teacher and administrator and had been very successful in these ministries. But after walking with Noel I had a desire to do something a bit more pastoral. This past September, I turned sixty years old. I am not sure how much longer I will have the stamina and energy to work with teenagers or how much longer they will consider me relevant. But I am sure that when the time comes to move on, God will move me in a direction and to the place where I am most needed to serve.

Sisters Inducted into the JCA Hall of Fame Si Sisters Barbara Kwiatkowski and Peggy Quinn were recently inducted in into Joliet Catholic Academy’s Hall of Fame. They have a combined to total of 45 years of dedicated service to JCA, serving on the faculty as well as on the Board of Directors. Family members and the Joliet Fr Franciscans Central Administration along with students and faculty me members attended this event.

Front Row: Kathi Tennessen, Irene Quinn, Sister Peggy, Sister Barbara, Joan Kwiatkowski and Norb Tennessen. Back Row: Sister MJ, Sister Teresinha, Sue Shible, Kathy McVicker, Sister Clarita, Sister Dolores and Sister Lourdes.

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Congratulations to our 2014 Jubilarians When their year of celebration began, the 2014 Jubilarians were asked two questions: “Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?” and “What does living the Franciscan life mean to you?” In their own words, taken from recent issues of the monthly newsletter for the Congregation, are portions of the Jubilarians’ answers to these questions.

Jubilarian photos were taken by Mr. Ron Molk.

75th Jubilarian What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Sister Maurice White Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

When I lived in Worthington, Ohio, we lived in the old club house of Brookside Country Club for seven years. We were surrounded by woods, fields and a lake. It was marvelous! We kids loved it. I learned how to cook and bake on a kerosene stove. We had electricity but no gas.

I grew up loving sports including football and basketball.

My father was a golf professional. When I taught at Joliet Catholic High School, I learned the game of hockey from the boys, who called me Sister White.

I met our Sisters in the last several years of grade school at Immaculate Conception School and fell in love with them. I came to St. Francis Academy in the fall of ’36 and through Mother Thomasine, was able to stay as a boarder at the old St. Francis Prep for three years. I did my Junior and Senior year in the last year at the Academy and entered the congregation in 1939. My mother said, “As soon as you arrived at the Academy I could tell you were going to enter.” Later, I taught at the College of St. Francis. And so here I am 75 years later, happy at Our Lady of Angels!

Sister Maurice serves as a volunteer seamstress at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home.

60th Jubilarians Sister Patricia Mitchell Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

Every ministry in which I’ve been engaged has memories galore!

It is impossible for me to name one that is special. Whether I was teaching intermediate grades, playing the organ, teaching French and religion in high schools, working in hospitals and parishes, serving our Congregation in Leadership, participating in graduate classes, Counseling, working with clients, group counseling or psycho-educational programs, facilitating groups with various religious orders, helping to train Franciscan Mission Volunteers, or ministering here at Our Lady of Angels, ALL has been GIFT! During this year of Jubilee one of my privileges is taking the time to remember something from within each of my ministries.

I am so grateful to God and the Congregation for all of these opportunities.

What does living the Franciscan Life mean to you?

Since I was in first grade, my only imagined future was to be a Sister like the Joliet Franciscans who taught me.

When one Reverend Mother visited our school when I was in 4th grade, I wore brown and white hoping she would notice that I had a vocation.

I had the privilege to a#end St. Mary of the Springs Academy High School. I was taught by the Columbus Dominicans and at the time, I grew close to several of these dedicated women. However, for only two weeks did I think I was being called to be a Dominican!

Living the Franciscan Life means I have been graced to live the call received when I was young to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Clare while striving to keep my “gaze fixed on Jesus.”

Sister Pat ministers as a Pastoral Care Volunteer.

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Sister Laura Filipas Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

I enjoyed being a teacher. What joy to see that the students “got it.” I taught every grade from 4th grade to seniors in high school.

Sister Helen Vahling Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

Three unrelated events happened within a few days during a week in October of 1996. At that time I was asked to teach the Diocesan “Adult Enrichment and Catechist Formation” for the Springfield Deanery during several weeks after school for the Catholic School Catechists and in the evenings for the Parish Religious Education Catechists. A Dominican Sister, who was the Diocesan Liturgist, and I were misquoted in the newspaper, the “Wanderer.”

Then I received a phone call from the National Parish Coordinators’ and Directors’ Office that I was awarded the “National DRE Excellence Award” for the Midwest

Sister Carlene Howell Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

So many memories come to mind since I was involved in all levels of education — from primary grades through college and then adult education in the parish. Teaching at the college level was most enjoyable and challenging for me. From my experience as a primary grade teacher, I learned how students learn — and I found I could apply the knowledge at the college level as well. The literature courses I taught provided a means for students to study human nature in a context that was fictional but at the

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

I have experienced deep joy and happiness. I have been privileged to live with intelligent, courageous, deeply spiritual women! The deep joy of Francis is palpable in my community. Franciscans are real, happy, down to earth, open, and approachable. There is time for quiet as well as interaction with each other. It’s a healthy mix.

Sister Laura ministers in Community Service at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home. that would be given at the NCEA/NPCD Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during Easter week of 1997.

The next day Sister Clarita Schumacher called to inform me that Sister Margaret Kacvinsky and I won the lo"ery for the Franciscan Study Month in Italy during the summer of 1997. Because of the close sequence of these events, I felt overwhelmed.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Each day calls me to praise and thank God for the gift of Saints Francis and Clare’s charism of Incarnation and Creation centered spirituality. This challenges me to be loving, caring and hospitable in all situations and to be mindful of the most needy. As long as I live, God has more to teach me and I pray that I will always be open to God’s will and love.

Sister Helen is a contemplative community member at St. Clare House of Prayer.

same time very real! I loved seeing students blossom into thoughtful and questioning individuals.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

This way of life means everything to me. It is a path I knew I would follow since I was 14! I had the example of our Sisters who seemed so content and joyful. Eventually the desire I had to become a Joliet Franciscan led to my final profession. The ensuing years provided so many opportunities to become steeped in Franciscan spirituality, to learn what it means to pray, to serve, to give myself ever more deeply in response to that “call” I experienced so many years ago.

Sister Carlene serves in the Congregation’s Administration office.

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What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Sister Verene Girmscheid Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

Having been an aspirant myself, I was able to support and encourage their hopes, concerns and daily problems as their Director.

Sister Margaret Alice Martinek Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

Most of my ministry has been with the poor in inner-city Chicago and in Selma, Alabama. The poor have much to teach us and I have

I am happy to be a Franciscan religious woman. I have many happy memories of being in community, living with other women, praying, learning daily how we can encourage and help each other. I live with an Associate of our community; together we support and look forward to each new day.

Sister Verene ministers in Community Service.

learned a lot from them. They have given me more than I have given to them.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Living the Franciscan way of life means to pa!ern my life on Francis who pa!erned his on Christ.

Sister Margaret Alice is the Director of Catholic Social Ministry for the Edmundite Mission in Selma, Alabama.

50th Jubilarians Sister Jaye Nelson Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

All my life I have been involved in some form of art and music.

Singing in church choirs, playing a variety of instruments and drawing on or with anything I could. But it was too easy. Why work at it when it was such fun just to do? Science, now, was something I could sink my teeth into. I loved learning how stuff made other stuff and how things worked. In ninth grade I read a book about medical detection and I was hooked.

Epidemiology was my new love.

After entering religious life, I became a grade school teacher. I enjoyed teaching, but not at the grade school level. Through the guidance of our administration at that time, I changed direction into the medical field. I studied for and became a Medical Technician, eventually specializing in clinical microbiology. Eventually, I

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received an invitation to work in the Infection Control Department. Twenty-five years in infection control followed.

Whenever I could, I took notes by drawing pictures, exploring color and form as a communication tool. When I retired from infection control, I became certified in an art methodology that helps others to heal from life hurts.

The program is designed for stress reduction, intervention for military personnel returning from combat, for kids living in shelters and many other populations in which there are life wounds. I use it along with music in giving workshops, in volunteering in long term care activities and in my own life. It is thrilling to see a spark of new life on the faces of participants and residents or to hear a new story from those who are slowly losing their memories. It has been a life changing event for me, a milestone on my journey. It is very Franciscan to teach without words.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Francis was not what drew me to the Franciscans and religious life.

One night in my senior year of high school I woke up from a sound sleep saying, “All right, Lord, you win!” continued on the next page

Sister Jaye Nelson continues:

envelope that this was the one. So I guess there was a bit of divine guidance involved.

I told my folks I wasn’t going to college. I was going to be a sister. I applied to four communities in the Midwest, two of which I had had contact with during years of religious education and two of which I had never met, including the Joliet Franciscans.

Over the years I have come to love the Franciscan way.

The journey has been rocky at times and glorious at other times but mostly day to day. The journey continues.

There are more adventures to come.

I had already received two replies when the Joliet Franciscans’ reply arrived. I knew before I opened the

Sister Jaye ministers as an artist.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Sister Kathleen Salewski Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

The Bayfield cluster of parishes is the 17th location where my ministry has taken place. Those 17 sites have held a vast variety of rich activities and encounters.

Each ministry and ministry location has many learnings, memories and blessings. Each is a thread in the tapestry of my life journey. That tapestry is just a small quilt square in the tapestry of our journey together into our unfolding future.

On our Entrance Day, we received a holy card with the words, “Here I am God.” Months later, on our Reception Day, I received another holy card with the words, “You may be the only Gospel some people read.” These two phrases have been my guideposts on my Franciscan journey. To me, living the Franciscan religious life means being available to God and others to share life, time and talents as needs and desires become known. Many times that takes the form of mutually calling forth and discovering new gifts and talents. Living the Franciscan religious life also means embodying the Gospel and recognizing Jesus’ message in the lives of others.

Sister Kathy serves as Director of Evangelization and Outreach in Bayfield, Wisconsin

Formation of persons for service to God’s people as priests, deacons, deacon wives and lay ministers has been a challenging ministry within several ministries.

This past St. Francis Day, while sharing a Transitus weekend at Mission San Luis Rey, God surprised me with the presence of many of these deacons, wives and lay ministers from the Tucson Diocese who were at the Mission for their annual weekend retreat. What an unexpected surprise!

The wonders of creation hold special, nurturing memories for me- the majestic mountains of Colorado, the colorful plains of Illinois, the gentle rolling “hills” of Missouri, the wheat and sunflower fields of Kansas, the tiny brilliant hummingbirds of Arizona, the blazing azaleas of the deep south and the vast, ever-changing “moods” of Lake Superior.

Photos were taken during the Jubilee celebration held at Our Lady of Angels.

Each flower represents a Jubilarian who has died.

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Sister Karen Berry Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

I sometimes joke that I have lived and worked only in “vowel states” (Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arizona). Each place of ministry holds special memories: my Sisterteacher-mentors who helped me begin a life-long teaching career at St. Francis Academy in Joliet and my students, some of whom are now Associates; my experience of community living while teaching with a superb group of Sisters at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ohio; the warm, welcoming hospitality of the people of Oklahoma whom I was privileged to serve as a parish Director of Religious Education; and the climate of Tucson which daily renews my spirit as I teach and write, relate and create.

I have always felt that I was born to teach. It has been my joy to teach people ages “4 to 84” in various kinds of

ministries. I feel most alive when teaching and memories related to this are precious.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

As a Franciscan, I have made special efforts to include in my teachings the aspects of Francis as peacemaker and lover of all creation. I am proud to tell people that Franciscans have a presence at the United Nations and their Mission Statement includes peacemaking, care for the earth and care for the poor. I love to teach about World Religions so people will grow in understanding and tolerance. I have enjoyed interacting with the Muslim community in Tucson, sharing the story of Francis and the Sultan and their interfaith dialogue. I am blessed to live in a house that hosts local Franciscan gatherings with prayers and dinner outdoors with a mission bell, a running fountain, a statue of Francis, and a yard full of birds and other creatures!

Sister Karen is the Director of Family Religious Education at St. Francis Cabrini Parish in Tucson, Arizona.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

Sister Carol Mecko Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

Most of my ministry has been in education, 31 years in elementary education and 6 years as a Principal, mostly to Spanishspeaking brothers and sisters. I have always felt that to be a good teacher, you have to be a good learner. I felt all my ministry years, even now, call me to “walk with people” side by side.

60th Jubilarians

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I am called “Sister” Carol. St. Francis saw all creatures, not just humans, but all creatures as “brother” and “sister.” To me, “Sister” is not a title of hierarchy or entitlement but is relational. I am related through deep respect and equality with all my brothers and sisters. I care for myself, my human family, the earth and all its creatures. We are all related - One! Sister Carol ministers as an Early Head Start Home Visitor in Li#le Falls, Minnesota.

50th Jubilarians

Sister Mary Jo Young Do you have a special memory of a past or present ministry?

My memories fall into specific categories of teaching students in preschool and primary grades and then college students along with directing a child care center for children whose parents (mostly mothers) were trying to complete their GED or were working at very minimal paying jobs. What has always stayed with me was the challenge of ministering to so many unique individuals and the delightful enthusiasm of young children and young adults eager to learn.

What does living the Franciscan religious life mean to you?

I was introduced early to the Franciscan Way mainly through my grandmother who was a Franciscan third order member long before I was even born. She was an example of a person who responded to the needs of the day, of the week, being present to the people in her life.

Living religious life as a Franciscan means always being open to the new and possible while meeting the challenge of serving those who are most in need of whatever I can bring to them. It means bringing Franciscan values to others, inspiring them to think of what they are doing as ministry rather than just “doing a job.” It means journeying with others – family, friends, sisters, colleagues, parishioners. It means listening to a call from God through the voices of others and responding daily, sometimes in ways I didn’t think I could or maybe even wanted to respond.

Sister Mary Jo currently serves as the Congregation’s Vocation Minister

Meet Our New Associates

Top from left: Genelle Diab, Paul Buss, Annette Buss, Regina Block and George Block made their Associate Commitment at the Motherhouse Chapel on April 6.

Bottom from left: Geraldine Thayer and Elizabeth Stockover made their Associate Commitment at the Chapel at Our Lady of Angels on June 19.

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At Journey’s End

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Sister Kathleen Kirk, OSF September 29, 1916 - April 14, 2014

ister Kathleen was born the second daughter of five children to William and Marguerite (Clancy) Kirk on September 29, 1916. She was baptized one month later on October 29 at St. Pascal’s in Chicago, Illinois, and attended St. Pascal Grade School and Alvernia High School in Chicago. Her connections to St. Pascal Parish remained strong over the years. She became part of the parish staff in 1955 when she was assigned there to teach music and play the organ.

Living during the depression was a challenge for the Kirk family. Her father was the only bread-winner for all seven members of the family, and any special gifts were difficult to obtain. However, Sister Kathleen’s love and talent for music became evident in her early years and her parents encouraged her. On her 75th Jubilee, Sister Kathleen stated that “she was always grateful to be able to pursue a musical career, because her parents made sacrifices to give her and her brother and sisters the opportunity to take piano, violin and dancing lessons in order to enrich their lives.”

at three different places: the University of San Carlos, and at the girls high school and the boys high school. Some of her biggest challenges were adapting to linguistic differences, sleeping under a mosquito net and adjusting to being 10,000 miles away from home. She said that she looked at life from a different perspective – the year served to intensify her love for her family, friends, Congregation and country.

In September of 1932, Sister Kathleen and her older sister, Sister Mary (Vincent) left their parents, brother and sisters to come to the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate. Years later Kathleen would write, “I surely feel rewarded in the fact that my sister Mary and I were Franciscans, my brother Bill studied with the Franciscans, but was ordained for the Joliet Diocese. But my biggest reward was the fact that my Mother and Dad were very active in the 3rd Order of Franciscans at St. Peter’s in Chicago and Mayslake. We were a real Franciscan family.”

In 1971 Sister Kathleen was part of a team who taught an anthropology course sponsored by Northwestern University. In 1976 she was selected by the Illinois Bicentennial Commission to help compile a Bicentennial Teacher’s Resource Book.

In 1981 after forty-five years in the classroom, she moved back to Joliet and started working on other ministries – bookkeeper, volunteer operator for Crisis Line, family ministry and pastoral care ministry.

Sister Kathleen was able to continue her studies in the fine arts at the College of St. Francis. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1944 with a major in art and a Bachelor of Music in 1957. In 1965 she presented an organ recital at DePaul University School of Music as part of her requirements for a Master of Music Degree that she received in 1967.

The list of Sister Kathleen’s achievements is vast. Other than her one year as a student after first profession, all of Sister Kathleen’s degrees and additional coursework for her various ministries were obtained while teaching full time in the parish grade and/or high school, teaching private music lessons after school and serving as the parish organist.

In 1969 Sister Kathleen was invited by one of her grade school classmates who had become a missionary to come to the Philippines to teach music for one year. She taught music

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As her final years of ministry slowed down, you could find Sister Kathleen visiting the residents at Our Lady of Angels. You would notice that she always wore purple. If you commented on her attire, you would receive the response, “I love purple.” How fitting it is that she returns to her God during the Lenten Season when the Church 75th Jubilee Class of 2013 celebrates with this liturgical color. Now she is experiencing the Pascal Mystery of the Lord she loved and served so well. We give thanks to God for the life of our Sister Kathleen.

At Journey’s End Sister Marianne Cardosi, OSF March 21, 1930 - May 14, 2014

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ister Marianne was born in Kankakee, Illinois, on March 21, 1930, the oldest of five children born to Judge Victor and Pauline (Mussa) Cardosi. She is preceded in death by her parents and her sister Joan Cardosi and survived by her two sisters, Paula and Jacquelyn and her brother Robert.

Her family attended St. Rose Parish in Kankakee. Marianne went to school at St. Joseph Seminary Grade School and St. Joseph Seminary High School. Attending the College of St. Francis (USF) in Joliet, Marianne, influenced by her father’s love of history, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Education in 1951. Further studies took her to DePaul University in Chicago for a Master of Arts degree in History and to Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee for a Master of Arts degree in English Education. Sister Marianne won a grant in 1969 for a summer program in American Studies at Northern Ohio University. She also attended the Franciscan Institute in Theology and Scripture at the College of St. Francis and Adult Education Courses at the University of Illinois.

Sister Marianne’s ministry of teaching began before becoming a Sister of St. Francis. Her first year of teaching was at the Lafayette Elementary School in Kankakee in 195152. The then superintendent of Schools in Kankakee, E.L. Johnson, had this to say in a letter of recommendation for her: “As a beginner she took over a large class and handled it well. She should become an excellent teacher.”

Perhaps influenced by the Sisters in her years at the College of St. Francis, Marianne responded to God’s call. She entered the novitiate receiving the name Sister Mary Deborah. She made her first vows in 1955, and began her years of ministry

50th Jubilee Class of 2005. Sister Marianne Cardosi is in the front row, third from the left.

in education at the secondary level in Joliet. She made her final vows in 1958. Other educational experiences took her to Ohio, Chicago, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Her last high school assignment was at St. Thomas Aquinas during the years 1967-1974. Sister Marianne served as Department Head and, with other faculty, developed an innovative program in American Studies and World Literature that included team teaching, modular scheduling and mini-courses.

In 1972, Sister Marianne began spending her summers in Kankakee as Coordinator of a summer tutorial program for elementary students. This experience may have awakened a new awareness of the need to help children and adults disadvantaged by economic structures. An opportunity arose when St. Clare House of Prayer in Kankakee announced the invitation for temporary membership, a time to experience the contemplative life and be renewed in spirit. Sister Marianne applied and was accepted. In 1975 she became Coordinator of Adult Education for Kankakee Community College.

It was also during this time in Kankakee that Sister Marianne began caring for her elderly mother. As her mother became frail, Marianne moved home to care for her along with her many duties with adult education and her parish involvement.

After her mother’s death, Sister Marianne herself began to decline in health as well. Her dedication to the underserved people of Kankakee would take its toll and Marianne found it necessary to say good-bye to the people and work she had so grown to love.

All will remember her intense and loving dedication to education. When she moved to Our Lady of Angels, she brought her hats, but more importantly, she brought her gentle, quiet spirit. Sister Marianne, you have taught us much and we thank you. May God’s gentle love now surround you for all eternity.

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At Journey’s End Sister Andrea Prindes, OSF June 6, 1922 - June 2, 2014

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n the morning of June 2, 2014, our Sister Andrea Prindes passed quietly into eternity in the same manner as she passed through every day of her religious life.

In her living and in her dying, she remained a woman of deep prayer. Steadfast and unrelenting in her attachment to the Sacred Heart, she clung hopefully to promises that anchored her faith.

Born on June 6, 1922, Andrea was welcomed into the world by her loving parents Hermina (Kovacik) and Andrew Prindes. Coming of age in the Depression years, Andrea, in the company of her three older brothers and her younger sister Emily, came to understand the importance of self-sacrifice and hard work.

Raised in a loving atmosphere of joy and gratitude to God, Andrea’s religious devotion and ethnic pride in her Slovak cultural heritage, informed and influenced her sense of vocation and her call to Franciscan sisterhood.

Entering the Postulancy of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate on September 8, 1938, Andrea’s years in initial formation were framed by an acute awareness of the devastating realities of World War II that had ravaged the homeland of her immigrant parents, relatives, neighbors and friends. Professing her final vows six years later on August 12, 1944, Sr. Andrea was well on her way to becoming a much beloved and enthusiastic teacher whose love of reading and writing and the arts inspired countless children and adolescents. Over a span of more than thirty years, Sr. Andrea served in thirteen parishes in four different states before experimenting with new educational challenges and opportunities in Special Education, Adult Education, Teaching English as a Second Language and Educational Programs for Refugees. Joining forces with Mother M. Borromeo Mack, Sr. Mercia Gillivan and Sr. Mary Paul Korman, Sr. Andrea responded to the unmet needs of adults ages 18 to 78 who found themselves on the margins of society, in part because of race, ethnicity and immigration status, and in part because of illiteracy or limited knowledge of English. In 1982 she became the Coordinator of the Refugee Program with the Joliet Township High School, providing special services to the Laotian people and forming friendships that have continued these past 30 years. In the missionary spirit of Mother Alfred Moes, Sr. Andrea opened her heart and her classrooms to people “from the ends of the earth,” welcoming each one as teacher, sister and friend.

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Taking up residence at Our Lady of Angels in 1993, Sr. Andrea made the most of her senior years by creating community with her Sisters, managing the Gift Shop, visiting the sick and rendering countless acts of community service as a volunteer. Of the many blessings that graced Sr. Andrea’s life at OLA, certainly the presence of her devoted sister Emily was among the most cherished. During the final decade of her life, as Sr. Andrea faced the challenges of declining health and physical diminishment, she offered back to God all that she had been given with reverence and gratitude.

Among her daily prayers, she included a simple one that gave expression to a firmly held conviction about her unfolding future: “Jesus, come when you are ready. Help me to be ready when you come.”

As we give thanks to God for the gift of our Sr. Andrea, may our celebration of her life and legacy inspire in each of us a renewed commitment to the ministries of education, social advocacy and prayer, especially for children, immigrants, refugees and all who await the coming of the Lord.

Sister Andrea was a 75th Jubilarian this year. She celebrated with her Sisters at OLA in May.

Mark Your Calendars Prayer Evenings The Joliet Franciscan Sisters and Associates invite you to join them for an evening of prayer and reflection on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Prayer Evenings are held at the Joliet Franciscan Center, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet at 7:00 PM. For additional information, please call 815-725-8735.

Prayer Breakfasts Join us for our next Prayer Breakfast. The morning begins with prayer and includes an inspirational talk and breakfast. Our Prayer Breakfasts are for both men and women. Dates for 2014 are:

Did you know that our Congregation will soon be celebrating 150 years of dedicated service?

Stay tuned - more information will be forthcoming!

- Wednesday, September 24, 7:00 AM - Wednesday, December 10, 7:00 AM Prayer Breakfasts are held at the Joliet Franciscan Center, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet. The suggested donation is $10.00. For more information, please call 815-725-8735, x116.

25th Annual Franciscan Autumn Feast Sunday, October 19th at 3:00 PM New Venue: Patrick C. Haley Mansion Help celebrate the 25th anniversary of this event! We will be presenting the Mother Alfred Moes and Joliet Franciscan Heritage Awards to our 2014 honorees.

There will be a silent auction and cash raffles and much more. Additional information at: 815-725-8735.

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Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Joliet, IL

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Jubilee Week 2014 Jubilarians and their Coordinators