Welcome

Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity

Holy Name Province

Charism Statement

Like Francis of Assisi and Magdalen Damen,
we trust God's goodness and providence,
living the Gospel in our time with gentle courtesy toward all creation.

Mission Statement

We are women choosing to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as Sisters of St. Francis in the spirit of our foundress, Magdalen Damen.

Our diversity of gifts is a power we choose to use for and with others because we are sisters to all.

Conscious of our personal, communal, and national experience of history, sin, and grace, we, as people of God, commit ourselves to human rights, ecological harmony, and global peace.

Wherever we live and serve, we contemplate the Word of God and call one another to conversion of heart in order to transform unjust structures and to hear the cry of the poor.

Trusting in God and open to risk, we walk with courage.

Stella Niagara Franciscans

An international congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, was founded in 1835 in the Netherlands by Mother Magdalen (Catherine) Damen.

The presence of the congregation in the United States dates from 1874, when the first three missionary Sisters, accompanied by General Superior Mother Aloysia Lenders, arrived in Buffalo, New York.

Today there are 10 provinces with central administration in Rome, Italy. The United States Provinces are located in Denver, Colorado, Sacred Heart Province (Marycrest), Redwood City, California, St. Francis Province (Redwood City ) and Stella Niagara, NY, Holy Name Province. The United States provinces sponsor missions in Chiapas, Mexico and Tanzania, East Africa. The Sisters of Stella Niagara minister in New York, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey, New Mexico and Florida.

A nine and a half minute video on the sisters is posted on YouTube. Click here to view.

Good News (the newsletter of Holy Name Province)

Click here to download a PDF version of the Spring '09 Good News.

For the Winter '08-09 Newsletter.