Sister Anne Carlino, OSF, (age 88) died on September 4, 2024, at St. Francis Convent.

Sister Anne was born in Brooklyn, NY, on March 15, 1936, the daughter of Theodore and Vivian (Terrano) Carlino.  She entered the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis on September 8, 1954, and professed her first vows on June 13, 1957. Sister Anne was a 1961 graduate of St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from St. Louis University in 1968 and a master’s degree in health care administration from Sangamon State University in 1973.

Sister Anne served in nursing leadership in several Illinois hospitals and at St. Francis Convent. From 1969 to 1982, she was instrumental in planning and developing the open-heart surgery, intensive care coronary units, and cardiopulmonary units at HSHS St. John’s Hospital. For three months, beginning in January 1980, she served the Cambodian refugees in Thailand, establishing assessment clinics for feeding women, children, and malnourished adults.

Sister Anne was community services coordinator of Catholic Charities in Springfield, IL, from 1987 through 1999, and while there, she was named the Copley First Citizen in November of 1996. She also facilitated the building of a new structure for St. John’s Breadline, which was completed in 1994. In July 1999, she co-founded the San Damiano Mission in Kemondo, Bukoba, Tanzania, and served there until May 2017.

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by a brother, Ted A. Carlino of Riverton, IL, several cousins, and her Franciscan Sisters with whom she shared her life for more than 70 years.

Visitation will be held at St. Francis Convent from 4-7 p.m. with a Wake Service at 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2024. The Eucharistic Celebration and Rite of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Richard Chiola on Monday, September 9, at 10:30 a.m. in the St. Clare of Assisi Adoration Chapel with burial in Crucifixion Hill Cemetery at St. Francis Convent.

To read her story from 2001, please click here.

Staab Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, along with Franciscan men and women throughout the world, will commemorate the 800th anniversary of an important moment in St. Francis of Assisi’s life: when Francis received the stigmata. The Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated on September 17 which is an estimated date of his receiving the wounds of Christ.

On September 17, 2024, the Sisters will host a Taizé Prayer Service at 6:30 p.m. in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 4867 LaVerna Road, Springfield. The Service is free and open to the public. Taizé Prayer, a form of Christian prayer, is a simple, meditative form of worship, calling participants to be mindful of Christ’s presence with chant-like songs, silence, readings, and prayer.

St. Francis of Assisi went to Mount La Verna, east of Florence in Tuscany, Italy, in September 1224 for a retreat. During this time, he prayed to share in Christ’s suffering and the answer came in a vision of a six-winged angel bearing the image of Christ crucified. As the angel departed, the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion, stigmata (nail marks through the hands and feet, a piercing of the torso), appeared on Francis’ body and he bore those wounds for the remaining two years of his life.

We are honored to announce our 2024 Jubilarians who will celebrate the anniversary of their first profession of vows in July. 

Click here to see photos of the Jubilarians through the years....

We congratulate Sister Elreda Huser, OSF, as she observes her 80th Jubilee.

Email her a greeting
Education and Ministries
Feature Story from 2005

We congratulate Sister Mary Kelly, OSF, as she observes her 70th Jubilee.

Email her a greeting
Education and Ministries
Feature Story from 2007

We congratulate Sister Christa Ann Struewing, OSF, as she observes her 60th Jubilee.

Email her a greeting
Education and Ministries
Feature Story from 2003 

We congratulate Sister Ines Schlathölter, OSF, as she observes her 50th Jubilee.

Email her a greeting
Education and Ministries
Feature Story from 2007

We congratulate Sister Rosily Menachery, OSF, as she observes her 40th Jubilee.

Email her a greeting
Education and Ministries
Feature Story from 2008

Sister Josepha Schaeffer, OSF, (age 91) died on Sunday, June 23, 2024, at St. Francis Convent, Springfield, IL.

Sister Josepha, the former Margery Grace Schaeffer, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on June 29, 1932, the daughter of Joseph and Frances (Miller) Schaeffer. She entered the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis on September 8, 1950, and professed her first vows on June 13, 1953.

Sister Josepha was a 1956 graduate of St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Marquette University in 1959 and a master’s degree in nursing from Indiana University in 1967.

From 1956-83, Sister Josepha served in nursing at HSHS hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin and at St. Francis Convent. She then began service with HSHS as the secretary for the hospitals until 1988 followed by service as the regional vice president for the HSHS Illinois board of directors from 1988-2001. In 2001, Sister Josepha spent several months with the Hospital Sisters in India, and upon her return, she served as the provincial archivist from 2002-11.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Shaeffer, and two sisters: Evelyn Wyrzykowski and Vivienne Doyle. She is survived by a brother, Edmond (Mary) Schaeffer of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, two nephews, one niece, and her Franciscan Sisters with whom she shared her life for more than 70 years.

Visitation will be held at St. Francis Convent from 4-7 p.m. with a Wake Service at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. The Eucharistic Celebration and Rite of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Richard Chiola on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in the St. Clare of Assisi Adoration Chapel with burial in Crucifixion Hill Cemetery at St. Francis Convent.

To read her feature story from 2004, please click here.

Butler Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.