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Blessed Frances Schervier, moved by the love of God, was directed by Christ to found our Congregation to heal his wounds in Aachen, Germany in 1845.  In offering herself to God for poor and suffering humanity, Blessed Frances, in a very deep sense, heeded the words of the gospel:  “The gift you have received, give as a gift.” (Mt. 10:7) 

As she worked among the poor, she more radically understood her divine mission.  Frances’ charism called her to a giving of herself and her congregation to the healing of all persons, especially the poor and the suffering.  This gift so deeply penetrated her very being that she tells us:  “In the poor and suffering, I recognized my Divine Savior as clearly as if I had seen Him with my bodily eyes.”  It is Blessed Frances’ charism and mission, to see Christ in the poor and to heal His wounds, that is the very core of being a Franciscan Sister of the Poor.  In 1996, at their General Chapter, the sisters extended this charism to include respect and healing for all of creation.

Sister Mary Maloney with one of her small charges at the Park Slope Christian Help soup kitchen and social service center in NYC.