The presence of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity in the United States began in 1874 when Mother Aloysia Lenders and three sister companions from the German province arrived in New York City. They came at the request of the German Jesuits of St. Michael’s parish in Buffalo, New York. There was a need for German-speaking sisters to teach the youth of the German population on Buffalo’s east side.
The sisters’ first house in the United States was St. Joseph Convent in Buffalo, New York. As their numbers increased, they moved into a larger brick building, Sacred Heart Convent and Academy. This became the novitiate for the North American Mission as well as a school for girls. The novitiate remained in Buffalo until 1908 when the move was made to the old March estate, Stella Niagara, in the town of Lewiston, New York.
From 1874 until 1928, the houses and missions in North America were under the jurisdiction of the German Province in Nonnenwerth. They were in New York, Ohio, West Virginia, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California. Mother Cecilia Steffen was the first Mission Superior. Upon her death in 1904, Mother Leonarda Hannappel, one of the first sisters to come in 1874, succeeded her. She oversaw much expansion despite hardships related to nationalist tensions during World War I and devastation from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. After fifty years of service, her health was starting to fail. In 1921, the general superior, Mother Valesca Kluxen, came to visit for seventeen months from Nonnenwerth. By 1922, Mother Gerard Zimmermann of Buffalo was appointed Superior.
In 1928, the North American Mission became the Province of North America. In 1931, the first Provincial Chapter was held, at which Mother Gerard was elected for another six years and the revised constitutions were distributed. The North American Province included over five hundred sisters who staffed forty-five institutions.
The Provincial Chapter of 1937 decided that the North American Province be divided into two provinces at the Mississippi River and elected Sister Lidwina Jacobs to Provincial Superior.
In January of 1938, Mother Lindwina started traveling to review missions and locate province centers. In her travels, she determined that the western province needed to be further divided to form the western province centered in California and midwestern province to be centered in Colorado.
The three provinces were formally recognized in January of 1939 and took the names, from east to west, of Holy Name, Sacred Heart, and St. Francis.
The Eastern Province, headquartered at Stella Niagara, New York, had Sisters in New York, Ohio, New Jersey, West Virginia, Florida, and South Carolina.
The Midwestern Province, headquartered in Denver, Colorado had Sisters in Colorado, Nebraska, North and South Dakota.
The Western Province, headquartered in Redwood City, California had Sisters in California and Washington.
“Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour
at every time of the day, every day and continually,
let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and
love,
honor, adore, serve, praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify
and give thanks
to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God Trinity and Unity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit”
First Rule of St. Francis (1221)
Chapter 23, Prayer and Thanksgiving