Felician Sisters of North America
The Felician Sisters of North America are a congregation of women religious, inspired by the spiritual ideals of their Foundress Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska and Saint Francis of Assisi. The Felician Sisters live in community, dedicating their lives to God and the Church—always striving to live and share the Gospel message through lives of prayer and service as they cooperate with Christ in the spiritual renewal of the world.
Pioneers of social services, the Felician Sisters sponsor more than 50 ministries throughout North American and Haiti and continue to "serve where you are needed" as Blessed Mary Angela called on them to do. Learn more about their work throughout North America at www.feliciansistersna.org
The Felician Sisters: Pioneers, Leaders, Trailblazers
Serving where needed since their arrival in North America in 1874, Felician Sisters have led the way in building the social service landscape.
Serving those in need, supporting refugees, providing education, fighting injustice, caring for the sick, sharing spiritual wisdom, empowering women, defending the planet, advocating for peace, fostering community and offering hope — by following Blessed Mary Angela’s direction to “serve where you are needed.”
Blessed Mary Angela, who founded the order of the Felician Sisters in Poland in 1855, was inspired by the lives and spirituality of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare, and Saint Felix of Cantalice, who were devoted to simplicity, prayer, and service to all in need. This model was adopted for the community life of the Felician Sisters.
History in Southern Illinois
The Felician Sisters have a long history of care and service in Southern Illinois, as the timeline below demonstrates:
1909 – 1922: The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ were staffing St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, a two-story building with 22 beds, on behalf of the Belleville, IL Diocese. By 1911, they had 13 more beds. By 1922 they had 86 beds.
1933: There was a high demand for education due to increased immigration and the Great Depression. Health care was not a priority to the Felician Sisters at that time, but over time, needs arose which included a health care ministry. Six sisters began nursing studies at schools in Chicago, Springfield (IL), and Manitowoc.
1939 – 1942: Due to a lack of vocations, the Poor Handmaids withdrew from St. Mary’s Hospital and the Felician Sisters stepped in to serve. The Chicago Province of the Felician Sisters sent 14 Felician Sisters to Centralia. Sisters took on leadership in all roles – nursing, administration, laboratories, housekeeping and so on – This began a meaningful relationship between the Felician Sisters and their lay partners. By 1942, the Chicago Province began negotiations to purchase the hospital. Upon purchasing the hospital, the Felician Sisters stepped into what would become decades of serving community health care needs through St. Mary's Hospital in Centralia.
1996: The Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between the Felician Sisters and SSM Health was formed. It was designed to create an innovative partnership to preserve Catholic Health Care in the Southern Illinois community by operating as one unified organization across two hospital campuses.
2022: Confident in SSM Health’s ability to continue the mission-centered health ministry, the Felician Sisters and SSM Health sign a letter of intent to renegotiate the JOA terms creating an available source of funding for the Felician Sisters to create the St. Clare Foundation to preserve the Felician Sisters’ legacy in the community and create a deeper emphasis on addressing community needs.
2023 – The Felician Sisters approve the creation of a foundation to support the needs of the Southern Illinois community to be named the “St. Clare Foundation”, in honor of the sisters’ Felician-Franciscan tradition and charism and in honor of Sr. Clarette Stryzewski, CSSF who served in leadership roles in the community for over 30 years.
