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As sponsors, we publicly identify with, exert appropriate influence on, and provide various levels of support to these ministries. In so doing, we fulfill our responsibility of stewardship for our heritage, mission, and resources.
- Our SistersUp Close and Personal
From the rolling hills of County Tipperary to the mountains of Guatemala and finally to the quiet halls of Assisi House, Sr. Mary’s life has been one of steadfast faith and generous love. What began as a quiet stirring in her heart as a young girl in Ireland grew into a lifelong vocation that carried her across oceans and cultures in service to others. - News/MediaRecent News:
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Main address and phone number:
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609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014
(610) 459-4125.
Justice and Peace
Justice and peace initiatives, along with caring for creation, involves using our voices to stand up against the injustices in our community and in the world. In order to do this, our sisters minister with those who have a need, attend rallies, write letters and make phone calls to government officials, take corporate stands, and much more. We look to and support the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) as a collective Franciscan voice amplifying St Francis of Assisi and his call for compassion for the poor and for creation over 800 years ago.
Corporate Stands/Take Action
Why do we engage in Justice and Peace Issues?
As Sisters of St. Francis, part of our mission states that we “respond with diverse gifts in a spirit of collaboration and of mutual service to the needs of others, especially the economically poor, the marginal, and the oppressed. Seeking to participate in the Spirit’s action in the world, we direct our personal and corporate resources to the promotion of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
Our Corporate Stands
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia voted to take corporate stands against gun violence, the death penalty, war, and human trafficking, along with one for immigration reform and for care for creation. We stand firmly grounded in Catholic social teaching and in our Franciscan heritage and tradition. These corporate stands act as concrete ways of affirming our belief in nonviolence and on taking “the necessary steps to be a healing, compassionate presence in our violent world, especially with…those who have no voice.” Our Corporate Stands
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DID YOU KNOW?
Laudato Si’ Action Platform
In May 2021, Pope Francis announced the Laudato Si’ Action Platform as an urgent initiative challenging the entire Catholic Church and world community to prepare a better tomorrow for future generations. The platform is a seven-year journey bringing together seven sectors— families, dioceses and parishes, educational institutions, health-care institutions, organizations and groups, the economic sector, and religious congregations. These sectors—all of us—are called to respond to the seven Laudato Si’ Action Platform goals: response to the cry of the Earth, response to the cry of the poor, ecological economics, adoption of sustainable lifestyles, ecological education, ecological spirituality, and community resilience and empowerment.
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia stand strongly in support of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ vision.Under the ongoing leadership of their Care for Creation Committee, the congregation has continued to respond to Laudato Si’ through education and action. Congregational leadership enthusiastically agreed with the committee’s recommendation that the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia formally join the Laudato Si’ Action Platform: “As Franciscans, how can we not?”
CORPORATE STAND ON DISMANTLING RACISM
“As Franciscans, we believe each person is a unique reflection of our Creator, deserving dignity and respect,” said Sr. Mary Vandergeest, cochair of the Dismantling Racial Discrimination Committee of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. “This corporate stand reinforces our commitment to the Gospel values of human dignity, justice, and love that have guided our congregation for 170 years. We are guided by Christ’s teaching to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ from Matthew 22:39. This foundational principle calls us to examine how systemic racism prevents us from fully living this commandment.” Learn more
For personal reflection, sharing, and action steps:
- What have I done to undo racism in myself?
- If Caucasian: How do I benefit from White Privilege? What can people with privilege do that people without privilege can’t?
- Advocate for and support criminal justice reform, the demilitarization of the police, the decriminalization of behaviors such as loitering and minor traffic violations, and the ending of stop-and-frisk.
- Use your vote: Call and write your representatives in Congress and ask what they are doing to address racism; vote for the candidates that support your views.
- To recognize implicit bias, take an Implicit Association Test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
What to Watch / What to Read:
- “Rosa Parks: The First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMDWzLvpkCM
- Freedom Riders: “The powerful, harrowing, and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomriders/
- “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” by Peggy McIntosh https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin J. DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson
- Racial Justice and the Catholic Church, by Bryan Massingale
- America’s Original Sin, by Jim Wallis
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander
- Just Mercy (2019 film)
- Bryan Massingale on racism and white privilege https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONiie2oYJCQ
