Province St. Elizabeth - Archives
The mission of the province St. Elizabeth archives is
to preserve and to make available - to the sisters and others -
The archival records in order to better understand
our province's history and the firm foundation prepared by
our founding sisters and those after them who dared to follow Christ
in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi and Mother M. Anselma Bopp.
Membership
The Archives has a database of all Sisters who were admitted and received into the Novitiate of the American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.
Deceased Sisters: The Archives has a file for most of the deceased Sisters which may contain various documents and other information. Photos may also be available in the files.
Living Sisters: Each Sister has a "Drop File" in the Archives which collects items (including photos, articles, newspaper clippings, etc.) that the Sister requests to be preserved in the Archives, accessible to Sisters who follow after us.
Collections
Since the Archives is in the process of being organizes and categorized, a partial listing of our Collections follows:
1. Places where our Sisters have served since December 28, 1923, such as:
- Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and others;
- Brazil, Cuba, and others
2. Apostolates carried out at each location;
3. histories of each location (state/diocese/country/region);
4. A variety of assets, such as photos, audio, video, artifacts;
5. Correspondence from various levels of governance in the Church and in our Congregration. Many are in German, some of which have been translated.
Centennial Jubilee
The Year 2025 presents several Jubilees!
Pope Francis opened the “Pilgrims of Hope” Jubilee Year on Christmas Eve 2024; on January 11, 2025, the 8th Centenary of St. Francis’ “Canticle of the Creatures” opened; and, we celebrate …
100 Years in Alton, Illinois!!!
We will celebrate 100 years since our arrival in Alton, Illinois, where our Sisters before us established the Foundation for our American Province, as well as renamed “Nazareth Home” -- which they purchased from the Sister Adorers of the Most Precious Blood -- to “Saint Anthony’s Infirmary” with the vision of the Infirmary becoming a Hospital.
While the First Five were stationed at Father Dunne’s Newsboys Home in St. Louis, Missouri, Sister M. Columbe and Sister M. Hildegardis looked for and visited several hospitals in the Midwest that were looking for Religious Sisters, and towns that wanted to build their own hospitals. According to God’s Providence, it was made known to our First Five Sisters that the Precious Blood Sisters in Alton, Illinois, were planning to move to Columbia, Pennsylvania, and needed to sell their “Nazareth Home”. Sister M. Columbe and Sister M. Hildegardis traveled to Alton, Illinois, met with Father Meckel and with Mother Paulina Schneeberger, ASC – and in November 1924 received permission from the Motherhouse in Thuine, Germany to purchase the Nazareth Home and surrounding property!
