Chosen by God to enrich the Church with a new religious family with an active-contemplative style, FRANCES STREITEL founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Rome in 1883. Animated by an authentic Franciscan spirit, poor among the poor, she followed the merciful Christ, rooted in Mary, Mother of sorrows and compassion.
"It was God who led me.
It is well known that
when the Lord wants to do great things,
he always turns to those who are small, equal to nothing."
"He asks everything of us,
but at the same time he offers us everything."
Mother Frances' first community began in the working-class neighborhood of Borgo Nuovo in Rome, among the poor, the sick and abandoned, orphans and pilgrims. In 1889, she encouraged the first missionary journey of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to the United States and there, hospitals, orphanages and schools emerged at a feverish pace, one after the other. It was then on to Vienna to care for the sick, and to Lussingrande to care for children with rickets and tuberculosis.
Mother Frances’ death seemed to accelerate the unstoppable race of expansion—like the grain of wheat dying and bearing fruit. Soon, other apostolic activities emerged in Abenberg, Germany, to support women, educate youth and care for children; then to the West Indies, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, for the education of youth, promotion of the family and service to the poor.
As recently as 2006, the apostolic fervor of the sisters reached the African continent to live among the poor in Tanzania, manifesting what Mother Frances dreamed of doing and is now sown through her sisters.
TELLING OUR STORY
is essential to keep our identity alive
“Telling one's story is indispensable to keep identity alive, as well as to strengthen family unity and the sense of belonging of its members. It is not a question of archaeology or of cultivating useless nostalgia, but rather of retracing the path of past generations to grasp in it the inspirational spark, the ideals, the projects, the values that moved them, starting with the Founders, Foundresses and the first communities. It is also a way of becoming aware of how the charism has been lived throughout history, what creativity it has unleashed, what difficulties it has had to face and how they have been overcome.”
Pope Francis
LET US RETURN TO OUR ROOTS
TO NOURISH
OUR FAITHFULNESS
"WE ARE A STORY"
A photograph can remind us to live the present with passion
"BUCKETS OF COMPASSION"
On June 21, 1898, Mother Frances Streitel sent three Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to Wabasha, on the shores of the Mississippi River, to establish St. Elizabethis Hospital.
This photo, taken some time later during a commemorative event, reminds us of the pioneering courage of the first missionaries in America.
A cart, a large umbrella, a dangling bucket, some old suitcases tied with a string the joy of serving with humility. How wonderful! As they chose dusty paths of sacrifice, they lovingly poured out buckets filled with compassion.
IN OUR ARCHIVES
"IT IS CHRIST WHO WRITES"
In our Archives, Pope Paul VI said, “It is Christ who works in time and who writes, himself, his story through our papers which are echoes and traces of the passage of the Lord Jesus through the world. And so, having a reverence for these papers, documents and archives, means to worship Christ, to have a sense of the Church; it means giving to us and those who will follow the history of the passage of this phase of “transitus Domini” in the world. Should we burn them? Should we abandon them? Should we let them get lost in the wear and tear of time or in the ignorance of those who approach them; or, rather, must we protect them?"
KNOWING HISTORY
TO BUILD THE FUTURE
Our God is the God who reveals Himself in history.
History is the place where the mystery of each person, community, and charism is formed and developed.
And an archive is the place where history is carefully treasured and made accessible to all of us. The archive helps us build the future while remaining connected to our roots, in the knowledge that it is the Spirit that gives life (Jn 6:63).
Sr. Samuela Maria Rigon
General Superior
NEWS
MOTHER FRANCES STREITEL
REFLECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES
THE VISION OF THE "TWO MOUNTAINS"
God’s plan within the inner insights of Mother Francis Streitel
I had an enlightenment...
In my soul I saw...
During her novitiate at the Carmelite Convent of Himmelspforten near Würzburg in June of 1882, while praying in the choir, Mother Frances had a spiritual vision, preceded and followed by other inner insights: “I was summoned in a supernatural way, ... I had an enlightenment, ... in my soul I saw, ... before my spirit I saw”. She writes to Father Jordan, in the famous letter N. 39 in which she relates the details of her vision of two mountains…
“A few days later I was praying in the choir in the forenoon and saw something, to me hitherto strange. In spirit I beheld two mountains rise. These two mountains, about the ordinary width of a street, stood in line with each other. The mountain rising on the right was higher than the other and had some sort of gradations. On its summit I believe I saw St. Elijah in rather indistinct form; farther down I also saw St. Teresa.
The other mountain was not so high, probably because it was not so old. In the one I recognized Carmel; in the other, Alverno, on which St. Francis was standing with a cross in his hand”.
“A man scatters seed on the ground. He goes to bed and gets up day after day. Through it all the seed sprouts and grows...”
(Mk 4:26-27)
That's right! In a world where weeds are often sown, we would like to sow good seed. We would like to offer to the hearts of those seeking the authentic beauty of "things that are real," a story that has the aroma of the Gospel: the life of Mother Frances Streitel.
THREE GOOD REASONS
TO SIGN UP
FOR THE NEWSLETTER
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To get to know Mother Frances Streitel—to know her better and more in depth.
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To come face to face with her experience of God--to take a leap of Love.
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To leave a place of comfort—to get involved in her charitable works.
FRAMES OF THE SOUL
Contemplate the inner paths of Mother Frances Streitel in the videos
Virtual tour of Mother Frances Streitel
