A New Year - A New United States Province

School Sisters Celebrate 19th General Chapter

Former Members Return to the Mount …

… While Two Return to Rome

Sister Pat Mahoney Given Peacemaker Award

A New Year - A New United States Province (Posted 3/2/07)
As the ball descended over Times Square on New Year's Eve and the fireworks began to announce the dawning of the new year, the School Sisters of St. Francis were having an added celebration. As the old year came to an end, so did the Pittsburgh and Bethlehem Provinces of the international congregation. At midnight on January 1, 2007 a new Province was established, the School Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of the United States. This change, which took place in conformity with the Church's (canon) law, was approved by the previous general administration in Rome at the request of the sisters of the two Provinces in the USA.

A new leadership team for the United States Province has been elected by its members and is now in place. We expect that the new team will be spending a lot of time on the Pennsylvania Turnpike commuting between Mount Assisi and Monocacy Manor - and to wherever else the sisters of the new Province are located.
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School Sisters Celebrate 19th General Chapter (Revised 3/2/07)
By plane, train, and bus they arrived in Rome from all directions—from Padua and Central Asia, the USA, India, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Chile. Members of the 19th General Chapter came to the generalate to reflect on our life together, to set goals for the next five years, and to choose a leadership team.

19th General Chapter – members and support staff in Assisi, 2006
Front row L-R Sr Helena T (SK), Sr Seena. (IN), Sr Jessy M (IN), Sr Virginie M (CZ), Sr Baptista N (CZ), Sr Jaisy J (IN), S. Magda S (SK), Sr Faustina S (SK), Sr Alexandrina M (SK)
2nd row L-R Sr Ines G (Trans.), Sr Marguerite S (USA), Sr Rossana V E (RC), Sr Patrizia Z (IT), Sr Sonia L (RC), Sr Kveta V (CZ), Sr Veronika R (CZ-GA), Sr Miriam D (IT), Sr Margherita F (IT), Sr Regina Z-O (CA-SK), Corpus I. TOR
3rd row L-R Fr Patrick, Sr Bernadine Marie S (USA), Sr Margaret K (IT-GA),
4th row L-R Sr Jeanne Marie U (USA, GA), Sr Magdalena S (SK-GA), Sr Xavier B (USA, GA), Sr Valeria R (IT-GA)
Back row L-R Sr Pacifika Y (SK), Sr Anna N (SK), Sr Frances Marie D (USA), Sr Francesca P (USA), Sr Bonnie Marie K, Asst Secr (USA), Sr Barbara D (USA), Sr Livia G (SK), Sr Rosaria S (USA), Sr Pat Marie B (USA), Sr Nancy C, Secr (USA), Sr Anece S (USA), Sr Theofila E (SK), Sr Martha Z (USA)

The chapter opened on July 9, 2006 with a symbolic gathering at the generalate and an exchange of a ceremonial sign of peace. All proceeded to the chapel where they reflected on creation and our baptismal call. The procession then went to the chapter hall where each member was called by name and received a baptismal candle lit from the Paschal candle. At that time the General Minister, Sister M. Xavier Bomberger, declared the chapter to be open.

During the working days of the chapter, technically referred to as a “chapter of affairs,” the General Minister and the ministers of the congregation’s provinces, regions, and delegations reported on the conditions of the sisters and life in their corners of the world. Sister Bernadine Marie Stemnock, then Pittsburgh’s Provincial Minister, was joined by Sister Rosaria Shina, then Bethlehem’s Provincial, and the Minister from Chile, Sister Sonia Lagos, to present the challenges and desires of the sisters in the Americas. At the end of the first week’s activities the chapter members broke into groups to set directions and goals for the next administration.

The “chapter of elections” then began and Sister M. Xavier Bomberger was elected to a second term as General Minister. Sister Xavier, a native of Stowe, Pennsylvania is a member of the United States Province. The following day the chapter elected Sister Kveta Vinklarkova (Czech Republic) as first councilor and General Vicar. The other members of the General Council are Sister Nancy Celaschi (United States), Sister Regina Zuk-Olszewska, (Slovakia, now serving in Central Asia), and Sister Rossana Villablanca (Chile). The new leadership team officially assumed their office at the close of the chapter on July 26.

This was Sister Patricia Marie Buranosky’s first General Chapter. Asked to comment on her experience, she noted, “For over fifty years I’ve known that I belonged to a pontifical congregation with missions in many countries. Only after experiencing this General Chapter as a delegate am I beginning to realize what that means. I am convinced that our witness to the world as a congregation lies in our internationality. We share this mission with over 400 sisters from different countries, cultures, languages, and ministries. It was a very moving experience to go beyond all of this and approach each member as SISTER. No biases, no prejudices, no hang-ups to keep us apart. What the world needs now is LOVE, SWEET LOVE. You had to be there to fully appreciate this.”
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Former Members Return to the Mount … (Posted 9/18/06)
On April 1 the Sisters at Mt. Assisi hosted a gathering of former members of the community; twenty-two former School Sisters of St. Francis accepted the invitation to reflect together on the charism and to share with one another and current community members in attendance.

The day began with Mass in Queen of Angels Chapel, followed by brunch. It was a lively gathering as women arrived from as near as the North Hills and as far away as California, all excited at the prospect of seeing old friends once again.

The sisters and former sisters reflected together on their experience of religious life and their vision of the Church; together they grappled with the question of what the Church and society expect of the School Sisters of St. Francis today and how the sisters can meet the challenges of today’s society. The group came up with some ideas for future action and agreed that the meeting was beneficial to all. Plans are under way to make it a regular event.

Most important of all, however, the meeting served as “proof positive” that all the women present had grasped an essential part of the Franciscan charism, namely that relationships are the most important aspect of our life. The joy that was shown as old relationships were revived and new ones were formed made everyone present declare the event a resounding success.


The largest group of sisters and former members present at the gathering was the profession group from 1956.

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… While Two Return to Rome (Revised 3/2/07)
The 19th General Chapter of the School Sisters of St. Francis elected Sister M. Xavier Bomberger to a second five-year term as General Minister of the Order. Sister Xavier, who hails from Stowe PA, is a former high-school principal and science teacher. Within the community she has served as provincial councilor, provincial minister, and in formation ministry. At the time of her election to the Rome office five years ago, she was serving as the assistant novice minister for the Eastern Inter-Franciscan Novitiate program.

Sister Nancy Celaschi was elected to a five-year term on the General Council and will soon be taking up residence in Rome. No stranger to the Eternal City, the Charleroi PA native spent sixteen years in Rome where she worked for eight years at the Vatican’s English-language newspaper L’ Osservatore Romano, and another eight years in education and publication work at the International Franciscan Conference of the Third Order Regular. She has most recently served as a member of the Provincial Council and Provincial Secretary.
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Sister Pat Mahoney Given Peacemaker Award (Revised 3/2/07)
During the Franciscan Federation’s Annual Conference, held in late July in Rochester, New York, Sister Patricia Ann Mahoney received the Federation’s Peacemaker award for her talent and commitment to spiritual life ministry.

The Director of the Franciscan Spirit and Life Center in Whitehall, Sister Pat is rather new to that role, but has worked in spirituality in some ways all her life. Trained as a social worker, Sister Pat has served as a counselor at St. Joseph’s Home in Dayton, Ohio, at Pittsburgh’s Orr Center and, most recently, at UPMC Western Psych’s Addiction Outreach Center. A graduate of Duquesne University’s Institute of Formative Spirituality, she also served in formation ministry in the community.
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