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Our Journey is published three times a year by the Community Relations Department for donors, friends, relatives and employees. This publication shares the journeys of our sisters and associates as they work in joyful service in the spirit of Saints Francis and Clare. The following articles are excerpts from the Fall 2007 issue of Our Journey. |
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Sister Mercita Pipp served Project HOPE in Colombia
Born Frieda Pipp in Draschitz, Austria, she moved to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1940. In 1942 she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota. Sister Mercita graduated and received her RN degree from St. Francis School of Nursing at Breckenridge, Minn. At Marquette University, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, also in nursing. Additionally, Sister Mercita later became a diplomat and fellow with the American Board of Medical Psychotherapy. After Trinity Memorial Hospital in Cudahy, Wis., was sold to Aurora HealthCare System, she returned to Marquette University and became a certified parish nurse. Started during the Eisenhower administration by famed cardiologist Bill Walsh, Project HOPE stood for “Health Opportunities for People Everywhere.” It was a peacetime hospital ship staffed with volunteer doctors and nurses that sailed around the world for 14 years, carrying medical supplies and helping those most in need. The famed cardiologist himself called Sister Mercita. The next thing she knew, she was hired and put in charge of nursing, working along side Colombia’s director of nursing at the University Hospital, Santa Clara, in Cartagena, Colombia. At Dr. Walsh’s request, she scouted opportunities to serve in other Latin American countries. She would evaluate the medical staffing situation and supplies available. Project HOPE administrators came to the conclusion, after agreeing with her evaluation that Venezuela did not need their help, that they need to “follow Sister Mercita’s advice.” She stayed in Colombia for 10 years, long after the ship left port, to make sure that the programs they started would continue. From Colombia, Sister Mercita moved to Cudahy, Wis., where she served as director of Nursing and vice president of Trinity Memorial Hospital. This job ended when the Franciscan Sisters sold all their healthcare facilities in 1993. You might think that Sister Mercita was ready to retire. Not so. Now, at 83, she looks back and remembers with great fondness her involvement with Project HOPE. It was a time richly blessed by being immersed with American medical personnel in helping another culture. Today, Sister Mercita ministers as a parish nurse at St. Stephen Parish in Milwaukee. In addition, she volunteers her time to work with four- and five-year-olds. What initially attracted Sister Mercita to the Franciscans continues to be her purpose today: healthcare and service to humanity. |
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Humane Borders honors sisters who bring drink to thirsty
Their work reflects our commitment as Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota, “to embrace those whom we as society and church marginalize.” We are grateful for the service of Sisters Elizabeth and Audrey Jean, which bears witness to us and to the world our Gospel call to live as sister and brother in Christ. |
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Franciscans address the sources of Mother Earth’s wounds “The earth and everything in it—the world and all who live in it—belong to God.” (Ps. 24:1) “God looked at all of this creation, and proclaimed that this was good—very good.” It has been noted that the United States, with 5% of the world’s population, uses 40% or more of the world’s resources. Often it is those who contribute least to the climate change who are affected the most. It is the poor who frequently suffer the consequences from human activity contributing to the global climate change. In their Pastoral Letter, “Renewing the Earth” (1991), the U.S. Bishops stated: “The environmental crisis of our own day constitutes an exceptional call to conversion. As individuals, as institutions, as a people, we need a change of heart to save the planet for our children and generations yet unborn. So vast are the problems, so intertwined with our economy and way of life that nothing but a wholehearted and ever more profound turning to God will allow us to carry out our responsibilities as faithful stewards of God’s creation.” The bishops’ call to ecological conversion is a vital response to the challenges of global climate changes. Ecological conversion leads us to changes in individual life styles and consumption patterns. In 2005, Franciscan Sisters and Associates committed themselves to “addressing the sources of Mother Earth’s wounds.” Since then, groups of sisters, associates and employees have gathered to learn more about the sources of Mother Earth’s wounds. Various committees, such as Earth Healers, Campus Green Committee and the Organic Food Committee have been formed and are actively implementing ways to help heal the wounds of Mother Earth. In gratitude for God’s creation, we joyfully praise God and say, “Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.” (translated by Bill Barrett from the Umbrian text of the Assisi codex) |
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On October 4, Franciscans throughout the world will pull out all the stops for a grand celebration. It’s the day they honor a wounded soldier turned saint, a prisoner of war who found God in a deserted church. His name is Francis of Assisi, a little man whose self-centered dream of fame became a vision that embraced an entire world. It was in the state of recovery from wounds of war that Francis began his journey of discovery into healing, into identity with all who suffer and know pain. Throughout his life’s journey he continued the search for healing which eventually found a pathway into the circle of creation. On that pathway he so identified, not only with what Paul the Apostle had come to know but with creation itself…that all of creation groans in labor pains, waiting to be set free, hoping for what we cannot yet see, while waiting for it with persevering confidence. He likewise came to know that “the Spirit comes to us in our weakness and personally makes intercession for us.” It is this same Spirit who journeyed with Francis, bringing him from woundedness to healing. The Spirit is with us, too, as we address the sources of Mother Earth’s wounds. |
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San Rafael makes way for new classrooms
Each phase of the construction posed its own challenge. The most difficult task was mixing the cement by hand with shovels and water right there “on the ground.” Finding wood to make the frame for the cement was another challenge. Here in Mexico we have to rent the wood to construct a form for pouring the cement. Then we return it to the owner. The easy phase was waiting and watching the rain come down, which of course stopped our work. Time was also spent waiting “on the ground” for materials that were late in arriving. In three days, all the walls went up. Within three weeks, all the windows went in. Experienced construction workers along with energetic teens worked diligently, eager to see the project to completion. The project brought to life so many things for which we are truly grateful. Mexican families extended hospitality and a warm welcome to all the visitors, making us thankful for diverse cultures and people who teach acceptance and understanding. Financial contributions and the persistence of the missionaries to get the job done proved a blessing. We sensed the Spirit when we were tired and when we were elated. The new space for catechesis and faith formation will be used for years to come. “Thank you” to our neighbors to the north for turning our dreams into reality. |
When Sister Mercita Pipp looks back on her 11 years with Project HOPE, she considers them to be “the happiest, most productive, fulfilling and satisfying years in my life.”
Sisters Elizabeth Ohmann and Audrey Jean Loher received special recognition and appreciation from the humanitarian organization Humane Borders for their years of service. Humane Borders is dedicated to saving the lives of migrants who cross the desert to come to the United States in search of jobs and a better life. Sister Elizabeth has been with the organization since its founding in 2000 and has seen the mission grow from one water station to today’s 70 stations spread along miles of the U.S./Mexico border. Sister Audrey Jean has worked for several years to help maintain the water stations and to promote the plight of migrants crossing the desert. 
Our Franciscan Community Proclamation states: “We reverence and preserve all of God’s creation.” Reverencing and preserving God’s creation is part of our rich heritage. We are called to be responsible stewards of God’s magnificent creation. Many of our sisters and associates grew up in rural areas and therefore are familiar with the land, animals and nature. Caring for the earth is becoming more important for us as the concerns about “global climate change” are escalating and as the air, water and land are becoming alarmingly contaminated. 
Franciscans around the world celebrate
In June, 22 missionaries from St. John’s Parish in Newburg, Ind., and eleven persons from the tri-parish of Melrose, New Munich and Freeport, Minn., came to San Rafael Parish to construct three religious education classrooms. During our four years here, the children have been seated on the ground in the yard of the church for most of their classes. |
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Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota
116 8th Avenue SE, Little Falls, MN 56345
(320)632-2981m info@fslf.org