"You shall be a blessing- a blessing for the sick in the hospitals and in their homes,
you shall be a blessing for the children and the youth, be they healthy,
crippled, mentally retarded or neglected and unloved."
-- Rev. Wilhelm Geelink
Muenster, Germany
The Hospital Sisters of Saint Francis is an international religious community,
which follows in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. The members are
committed to sharing in the healing mission of Jesus. The congregational
headquarters is located in Muenster, Germany where a General Council exercises
its responsibility for the religious life and business of all members
throughout the world.
The Generalate Administration presides over an international Franciscan congregation and is based in their motherhouse in Münster in Westphalia, Germany. As the General Administration, they are responsible for ensuring that their international Franciscan
community is oriented to the life of Jesus Christ and St. Francis. To visit the Generalate website, click here:
www.generalat-hsosf.de
International Headquarters
On July 2, 1844, a Franciscan priest, Father Christopher Bernsmeyer, witnessed
the religious commitment of five women in the pilgrim shrine of the Sorrowful
Mother at Telgte, Germany, a village outside the city of Muenster, Westphalia.
This marked the foundation of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order
of St. Francis as a religious community of Catholic women dedicated to
the service of the sick and those in need. Bismarek's Kulturkampf threatened
the survival of the newly formed religious community.
To America
In 1875, twenty Sisters were selected to undertake the establishment of
their community in America. The Sisters came to Illinois at the invitation
of a local Bishop. In those early days, a Motherhouse for the American
Province of the Hospital Sisters was established at St. John's Hospital,
Springfield.
