Sister Benita followed her teachers at Immaculate Conception School in Minnesota to Sylvania to enter St. Clare Academy in 1945. After making First Profession in 1950, Sister spent over a decade teaching primary grades in the Toledo area before becoming a middle school history teacher. In 1985 she became the Parish Minister at Holy Cross Church in her hometown of Minneapolis until returning to the Motherhouse in 2017.

Sister feels great joy and satisfaction when she hears from students she taught and they tell her how she influenced them by her teaching and example of Franciscan joy. She delights when she learns that some of her students have become priests, sisters, dentists, nurses, police officers and firefighters.

Her daily prayer is “Jesus, bless all those I will see today, talk to today, or listen to today. Give them many blessings. If any of them want to do evil, please help turn them away from it. Amen.”

This daughter of the St. Charles Parish in Detroit, MI, entered the Sylvania Franciscan Community in 1962 and made First Profession in 1964. Sister taught in Toledo, OH, Steubenville, OH and Garden City, MI. In 1978 she transitioned to Pastoral Ministry. Sister spent over 40 years caring for parishioners, including St. Mary’s Parish in Shadyside, OH and in Vermilion, OH, as well as over a decade in the Raleigh, NC diocese.

Sister is grateful she was called to this vocation. “This community has been such a gift to me. I’m thankful for my college education, something that I would never have been able to do if I had not entered. That led to teaching and later parish ministry, and now to my current ministry at Sophia Center. I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, some of whom are lasting friends.”

She feels blessed to have two wonderful families, one biological and one religious, both who have supported her and created happy memories. “I believe that Maya Angelou had it right when she said, ‘I sustain myself with the love of family,’ says Sister Claudia “I’m so grateful to God. Without His guidance, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Through these 60 plus years of religious life, in good times or bad, I have known that God is with me. I always believed His promise ‘Always will be.’”

A daughter of St. Aloysius Parish in Bowling Green, OH, Sister Diana Lynn made first profession in 1965. Sister served in the ministry of education for 26 combined years, 15 of those spent as school Principal of St. Joan of Arc School in Toledo and All Saints Catholic School in Rossford. She was elected to Congregational Leadership from 1992-1996 and served as Congregational Minister from 2004 – 2012. Sister then served as Director of Mission Integration at St. Clare Commons, retiring in July 2021.

Sister Diana Lynn writes: “Living 60 years as a Sister of St. Francis has been the most profound. I’ve always seen life as a gift and a blessing from God who is ever present on this journey wherever it leads.

I grew up in a farming family where my parents were strong role models of what it meant to live a life rooted in God and prayer. This influence deepened further with the arrival of the Sylvania Franciscan Sisters who came to teach religion at my parish. Sister Patrice was my religion teacher and her joy of teaching, along with my visit to the Sylvania Franciscan Motherhouse, was when I realized what I wanted to be in life—a Sister of St. Francis of Sylvania.

As I reflect on my 60 years as a Sylvania Franciscan, I’m so aware of the many graced experiences and ministry opportunities God blessed my life with—as teacher, school counselor, principal, Congregational councilor and leader, and mission integrator. However, for me, it’s really not so much ‘what’ I’ve done, but the way God used me to touch hearts and impact lives on this Franciscan journey.

I celebrate this milestone with a peaceful heart full of gratitude.”

Sister Valerie hails from Holy Angels Parish in Sandusky, OH and entered the community in 1962. Sister Valerie’s ministry in education spans from 1965-2020, teaching at Elementary, High School and College levels. Sister ministered as Principal of SS. Peter & Paul School, Associate Principal at Cardinal Stritch, as Principal of St. Hedwig’s and served as a Lourdes Instructor until 2020. Sister was elected to Congregational Leadership in 2021.

Sister Valerie writes: “After living religious life for 60 years, I would like to say thank you to my parents for planting the seeds of Franciscan values in my everyday life. Living a life of service, kindness, and caring for the family and community is second nature.

I am very grateful for the education I received, and the sisters I have lived with in a community that focuses on prayer and Franciscan values. Our mission statement says it all – we are called as messengers of peace, to works that reverence human dignity, embrace the poor and marginalized and respect the gifts of all creation.”

Sister Ann Lorette Piekarz, daughter of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Detroit, entered the community in 1963 and made her First Profession in 1965. Her ministry in early childhood education spanned 48 years teaching first and second grades. She served at Franciscan Care Center and most recently at Rosary Care Center, offering spiritual support, love, laughter and special care for residents suffering from memory issues. Sister is a Bethany House Board Member.

As Sister Ann Lorette celebrates 60 years of religious life, she says, “If I could, I would live every day over again – mistakes and joy-filled days. Each day was God’s gift to me.
I entered the Sylvania Franciscans begging God to ‘Let me be Your hands, feet, voice and heart.’ I repeat that prayer every day. When I am proclaiming His word at the microphone, I read it as if I were Paul speaking to the Romans or Peter retelling Christ’s message of love. It fills my spirit to read to the faithful during Liturgy to share His message of love.

I encourage everyone to pray all day – with each simple or complicated act you are conscious of, whether it’s trying a new recipe for your household (Please Lord, let them be happily surprised as they eat this!), talking to your doctor about a serious problem (Holy Spirit tell me what to say and let me listen to the doc’s advice), or simply following new directions to a friend’s house (Dear Angel, guide me and please don’t let me get lost.) Pray, pray all day…Heavenly intercessions of the Communion of Saints.”

A daughter of Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia Heights Minneapolis, Sister Mary Frances made First Profession in 1965. She taught grades 2-7 in OH and MI, then, in 1975, she shifted to Religious Ed. Ministry, serving as Director in Minneapolis and Toledo parishes. Between 1986 and 1994, she served her Community as Novitiate Director, Formation Director and Co-Director of Co-Membership. Sister received her Master’s from U. of M. in 1996 and has served as a Psychotherapist at Catholic Charities in St. Cloud, MN since 1997.

“How did this happen so soon—celebrating 60 years of religious profession, a diamond jubilee?” writes Sister Mary Frances. “I guess the short answer is “day by day.” Or better, God’s doing. As I reflect on the days and years since first profession, I experience them again as signs and wonders of God’s love. Grace preceded my every step, not just in the big moments of my four “careers,” but in the daily challenges and in the moments of surprise and consolation Gratitude is too small a word for the blessings of these 60 years.

But life is not just a retrospective. With sixty years of ministry behind me, I am reminded of the words of St. Francis at the end of his life after having founded a movement that experienced tremendous growth far beyond the city limits of Assisi, ‘Let us begin again, for up to now we have done nothing.’ Not that founding a movement or 60 years of religious profession and ministry is nothing, but conversion of life is unfinished. Each day is an invitation to renew one’s commitment. The adventure for the future is to remain, as the title of Franciscan Richard Rohr’s book suggests, ‘Eager to Love.’”

Sister Rosine was raised in the St. Hyacinth Parish in Toledo, OH and entered the community in 1962. In 1964, Sister began a lifelong ministry in education teaching grades 1 – 8 in OH and MI before beginning studies in Biology and Chemistry. She returned to the classroom in 1975, serving as an Associate Professor at Lourdes University until 2019, as Division Chair of Natural Math Science from 1983-92, and Biology Dept. Chair twice, and, from 1999-2012, as the Life Lab Coordinator. Sister continues her care for creation ministry as President of S.A.V.E., an environmental scientific organization she co-founded.

Sister reflects: “When I was young, my parents instilled in me a respect for life, a love of the natural world, and a call to be mindful of the ‘little ones’ in society, those that go unnoticed. When I first came to this Franciscan convent, I was part of a structure with rules, obligations and responsibilities. My experience expanded beyond the routines of religious life when I heard one of our Senior Sisters say, ‘Listen to your own inner authority.’ It struck me profoundly and I knew a transformative time was on the horizon. I began to listen deeply to the Spirit in Scripture, to precious mentors and to life’s invaluable circumstances, all which called me to a new way of Franciscan ministry: to see with the eyes of my heart. I gained a cosmic perspective that allowed me to respect and reach out to all animate and inanimate creation, especially, the minoritas.

Now in this sixtieth year of my life as a Sylvania Franciscan, I feel a fresh new insight triggered by a spiritual companion who, before she died, gave me money and insisted that I purchase the book called “Active Hope.” Its message stays with me daily and brought me needed insight to minister in these troubling times. So, in chance encounters, I tell people I meet – You are very special! You are a precious pearl. You have a gift that no other person has on Earth. I know God directs me to the right people who need to hear this hopeful message in these turbulent times, and I am so grateful.”

A daughter of Little Flower Parish in Toledo, Sister Judy Ann entered religious life in 1975, beginning her long ministry in early education at Saints Peter and Paul in Sandusky, OH where she taught primarily first grade until 2008. She transferred to St. Joseph School in Sylvania, where she taught until 2019. Sister currently serves at Sophia Counseling Center as an Administrative Assistant.

Sister Judy writes: “My call to religious life began when I was in Junior High. I entered the Sisters of St. Francis on the Eve of St. Francis Day as a freshman in high school. I remembered feeling very nervous as my parents drove me to Sylvania, Ohio. My mom and dad told me that my family loved me and our home is always my home. I always wanted to teach. For 43 years I was gifted by being able to minister to God’s little ones in Grades 1 and 2 in Sandusky, Ohio and Sylvania, Ohio. In 2019, I was ready for a new way to share my gifts. I began a new ministry working at Sophia Counseling Center in Administration work.

This has broadened my perspective of the world. For a change of pace, I find myself in my kitchen preparing a variety of homemade goodies. I share my baked goods with many people. As I continue to be a witness in the world, I know from Jeremiah 29:11 that God is with me and calls me to a future filled with hope.”

This daughter of the Diocese of Minneapolis, MN entered the Sylvania Franciscan community in 1982 and made First Profession in 1985. Sister Penny served as Religious Ed. Director for St. Joseph Parish in Sylvania, spent three years in Corsicana, TX as a Pastoral Assistant, then returned to Minnesota in 1994 to serve in St. Timothy Parish in Blaine as Senior High Coordinator and then Coordinator of Parish Faith Formation. From 2000-2011, Sister served as Director of Formation at St. Odilia Church in Shoreview, MN, and, since 2011, as Senior VP of Mission Integration at St. Joseph Health System in Bryan, TX.

Sister Penny writes, “Each one of us is a present to the others when we share our God-given gifts. I’m so grateful for the gifts God has bestowed on me to develop through my lifetime allows me to be a gift to others. Through my ministry I have so many memories and the joy of relationships that have formed the person I have become. These treasures in my heart lead me to being peaceful, grateful and joyful.

One of the simplest gifts I can give to others is human kindness. Kindness is healing! I’ve noticed in myself how quickly I perk up when someone, friend or stranger, approaching me gives me a smile. It immediately warms my heart. It’s a gift to be noticed. It’s all about human dignity.

I ponder my needs for improvement and the good in myself and others, while also being grateful for disruptive events that enter my life for, they, too, become blessings in disguise. I have learned to listen to my inner stirrings and the voice of others. God guides my decision making through voices of love, and events which have inspired and empowered me. Others have been a present to me, so I try to be a present to someone else.”