World Missions
The Franciscan Sisters have been involved in mission activities outside the United States since 1962 when we responded to a request to start a mission in Peru. Initially called to serve in healthcare, we soon branched out to education, catechetics and pastoral ministry. Training the local people to carry out the work we start continues to be our major focus along with the advancement of women.
Wherever we are in the world, our goals are the same: engaging our Franciscan charism. We dedicate ourselves to rebuilding the Church, addressing the sources of Mother Earth's wounds, and embracing those who are marginalized in our world. World missions give us the opportunity to live out our values and charism in areas where there is great need.
Mexico
We serve San Rafael Parish in the Diocese of Linares in Nuevo Leon, a very poor area of rural Mexico. Through the Franciscan Missionary Center, the sisters train lay people to be religious leaders who serve the pastoral and spiritual needs of the people.
Ecuador
Sister Joan Gerads founded Parish Neighborhood Renewal Ministry, a program that trains people as missionaries to go from parish to parish to help form "Base Church Communities." The goals of Base Church Communities include evangelizing and spreading the Good News which guides the people in their faith formation and strengthens the Catholic Church in Latin America.
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Nicaragua
In November 1990 the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls arrived in Managua, Nicaragua, with an openness to discovering what it was that was theirs to do. Sisters Carmen Barsody, Carolyn Law and Joanne Klinnert, and later Sisters Ruth Lenter and Michelle L’Allier, planted the seeds that continue to bear fruit today.
