The Provincial Chapter has concluded, and the newly-elected 2019-2023 leadership team takes office in this season of spring. We offer our good wishes and prayers for support for Sister Maureen O’Connor, Provincial Superior, Sister Christa Ann Struewing, Provincial Vicaress, Sister Rosily Menachery, Provincial Councilor, and Sister Janice Schneider, Provincial Councilor.

The Provincial Superior represents the American Province of the Hospital Sisters, its establishments and interests while responsible for directing the Province in spiritual life and its ministries. The Provincial Vicaress assists the Provincial in the Province business and in the absence of the Provincial Superior, she assumes her responsibilities. The two Provincial Councilors, together with the Superior and Vicaress, form the leadership team that directs the Province business. In addition, the Provincial Superior and her Council serve as Members of Hospital Sisters Ministries, the public juridic sponsor of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach in which they have Reserved Powers.

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is an international congregation of Franciscan Sisters founded in Germany in 1844, and their Provinces include Germany, Poland, USA, Japan, and India. The American Province, based in Springfield, IL, was founded in 1875 when Sisters from Germany arrived and began a healthcare ministry. The Province is the Founding Institute of Hospital Sisters Ministries which is the public juridic sponsor of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) – a multi-institutional health care system in 14 communities in Illinois and Wisconsin with 15 hospitals, health centers and clinics, nearly 2,300 physician partners, and more than 14,600 colleagues. In addition, the Province sponsors Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, a recovery and world-wide distribution of medical supplies and equipment, and operates Chiara Center, a Franciscan Place of Spirituality for individuals and groups seeking a retreat and conference center.

Sisters Janice, Maureen, Christa Ann, and Rosily

The 2019 Provincial Chapter of Affairs and Election is being held March 24-31, 2019 in Chiara Center. The theme is "Pouring new wine into new wineskins" and Sister Joanne Hanrahan, SSND, is the facilitator. The Provincial Chapter is a meeting held every four years to elect the leadership team and provide direction for the American Province.


There are 27 Chapter Delegates which include Sister M. Margarete Ulager, OSF, General Superior, and two guests: Sister M. Christella Watanabe, OSF, General Vicaress and Sister M. Beata Kapica, OSF, General Treasurer.
 

We, the Leadership of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, stand in support of the statement issued by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration:
“We are deeply concerned about the President’s action to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S./Mexico border, which circumvents the clear intent of Congress to limit funding of a wall.  We oppose the use of these funds to further the construction of the wall. The wall first and foremost is a symbol of division and animosity between two friendly countries. We remain steadfast and resolute in the vision articulated by Pope Francis that at this time we need to be building bridges and not walls.”

Our country has many very pressing needs for which the designated money was already budgeted by our Congress and for which it should be used. We, too, remain firm and resolute in the vision of Pope Francis that in these times, we need to be building bridges—not constructing more walls. Walls, by their nature, are structures designed to separate peoples, things and understanding. They serve as an obstacle to any kind of exchange.

Hospital Sisters of St. Francis
Springfield, Illinois
February 28, 2019

January 22, 2019 - A Prayer Service was held today in observance of the 40th anniversary of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). The Service was held at the HSHS System Services Center. HSHS was incorporated on December 26, 1978.

Mary Starmann-Harrison, HSHS President and CEO, welcomed the guests of Sisters, Board members, and colleagues and stated that “Whenever a new colleague or board member joins HSHS, we share with them the wonderful history of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis: their arrival from Germany in 1875, and their creation of a Franciscan healthcare ministry that now includes 15 hospitals in two states. We provide this information to colleagues not as a history lesson, but as a way of conveying our Franciscan values and inviting them to join this ministry and carry the torch forward. We want our colleagues to understand that God had a plan for those first Hospital Sisters who arrived from Germany, and God has a plan for all of us who continue their work in their name.”

During the Prayer Service Sister Marianna Kosior, founder and first president of HSHS, was recognized. In her remarks, Mary shared “Today, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of HSHS, and we also want to celebrate the vision and achievements of the Provincial Superior, the Provincial Council, and the original HSHS board of directors who made it possible. We are presenting this plaque in recognition of Sister Marianna. The plaque contains this quote from Sister Marianna: “The reason we, a religious community, can be involved in such a gigantic project as a system of hospitals is that we have the professional training, and are gifted enough to do this. We want to bring others to an awareness of God’s love by the way in which we serve them.” The plaque will be displayed here in the System Services Center and to honor Sister Marianna’s essential role in the founding of HSHS, we feel it is important that our Board Room be named the Kosior Board Room."

A Presidential photo
Sister Marianna (seated left) served as HSHS President from August 1979-November 1989 and Sister Jomary Trstensky (seated right) served in that role from November 1989-July 2006. Mary Starmann-Harrison (standing) has held the position since April 2011. (Not pictured is Stephanie McCutcheon who served from September 2006-June 2010.)

The Leadership Team of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis has joined the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and signed the petition sponsored by the Shut Tornillo Down Coalition National and Local Partners. (This detention camp for child immigrants is located in the desert in Tornillo, Texas.)

The camp was built with the express purpose of discouraging immigrants from coming to the U.S. Thousands of children are imprisoned there. There is no healthcare there for them and their abusive imprisonment causes irreparable harm to their normal development.There are many other, much more suitable places to house the children in a significantly less expensive way. The petition asks that the children be placed with family or sponsors, who will not be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation and that no more centers be built to replace it.

The Leadership Team of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis
Springfield, Illinois
January 1, 2019

This year marks the 175^th anniversary of the founding of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. This graphic was designed by Sister M. Theodora (Japan Province) and will be displayed throughout the year in various ways including as a flag on a new flagpole at Convent Entrance and on the flagpole at Chiara Center.

The central image of the graphic is Our Lady of Grace Chapel (Telgte, Germany) where Father Christopher Bernsmeyer, OFM, welcomed young women to begin their life of caring for the sick on July 2, 1844. Surrounding the Chapel are the flags where the Sisters have a Province: Germany (since 1844), Poland (since 1849), USA (since 1875), Japan (since 1948), and India (since 1973).