Our Timeline

1181    Francis of Assisi was born, died 1226.

1787    Catherine Damen was born, died 1858.

1815    Catherine Damen professed vows.

1835    Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity was founded in the Netherlands.

1874    Congregation was established in the United States.

1886    Sisters began work at St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Last sisters left in 2004.

1888    Holy Rosary Mission parish and boarding school opened on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Last sisters left by 2007.

1899    St. Mary’s Academy in O’Neill, Nebraska opened. Last sister left in 2012.

1908    St. Agnes Academy in Alliance, Nebraska opened. Turned over to parish in 1964.

1911    St. Joseph’s Hospital in Alliance, Nebraska opened. Supported by Sisters until 1976.

1912    St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in Minot, North Dakota opened. Renamed St. Francis School of Nursing in 1958. Closed in 1971.

1914    St. Joseph’s Hospital in Minot, North Dakota opened. Last sister left in 2000.

1917    St. Elizabeth’s Convent in Denver, Colorado opened. Parochial School by 1950. Closed in 1973.

1923    Establishment of the North American Province.

1926    St. Leo’s School in Minot, North Dakota opened. Sisters present until 1942.

1938    Marian Residence Nurses’ Home in Alliance, Nebraska opened.

1938    Winslow Estate purchased for Marycrest Convent and Sacred Heart Province.

1939    Sacred Heart Province established in the Prairie States.

1945    St. Mary’s Hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska opened. Sister supported until 1977.

1946    Immaculate Conception School opened in Rushville, Nebraska opened. Closed in 1966.

1952    St. Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill, Nebraska opened. Sister supported until 1998.

1954    St. Agnes School in Scottsbluff, Nebraska opened. Last Sister left in 1969.

1954    Marycrest Aspirant School in Alliance, Nebraska opened. Closed in 1966.

1958    Marycrest High School opened in Denver, Colorado. Closed in 1989.

1965    Sisters start to volunteer in the region of Orizabeta, Hildago, Mexico.

1968    Queen of Peace Oratory and Convent in Denver, Colorado opened on northern part of Marycrest property. Closed in 2008.

1976    Gerontology Center in Alliance, Nebraska opened. Sister supported until 1989.

1980    Marian Residence Retirement Home in Alliance, Nebraska opened.

1983    St. Francis Home for children in Manderson, South Dakota opened. Closed in 2018.

1988    St. Mary’s Home in St. Paul, Minnesota opened. Last Sister left in 2013.

1992    Chiapas Mission officially established in Mexico.

1996    Marycrest Retreat and Conference Center in Denver, Colorado opened. Closed in 2006.

1998    Marycest Assisted Living in Denver, Colorado opened. Sister sponsored until 2014.

2009    Casa Chiara opened where the Queen of Peace Convent once stood in Denver, CO. Current location of provincial offices, archives, sisters’ residences, chapel, and ministry space.

2012    Sale of most of the original Marycrest property and buildings in Denver, CO to Urban Ventures and Perry-Rose to develop Aria Denver.

2022   Closing of Marian Residence in Alliance, NE in May.