Felician Ministry
McGuire Memorial is one of the many ministries of the Felician
Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Province—a
Franciscan community of women who are committed to fulfilling
their mission of cooperating with Christ in the spiritual renewal
of the world. The Felician sisters have been ministering to
God's people throughout Pennsylvania since 1888 in the areas
of education, healthcare, and social service ministries.
Today, there are more than
100 Felician Sisters from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Province
who, together with the nearly 2,000 other Felician Sisters internationally,
are “answering God’s
call to help people in need through both service and prayer.” Together,
they continue to “defend the dignity of all human life and
promote right relationships and responsible stewardship of creation.”
All
ministries of the Felician Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Province are guided by seven core values, inspired by Saint Francis
of Assissi and their foundress, Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska.
They are:
Eucharist is at the heart of Felician values; it
is characterized by sacramental celebration, and is lived out
in relations to all persons as Jesus Himself.
Joy is
both Franciscan and Scriptural in nature, and is observable in
practice.
Stewardship is rooted in the Franciscan value of care for all
creation.
Respect for all the people of God, leads to treating all as
children of God.
Service with a preference for the poor, is a wholehearted commitment
inspired by the example of Blessed Mary Angela.
Justice rather than sympathy, is the basis for serving the poor.
Compassion grows out of the love for God and all humankind.
Called “Felician” because of their association with a Franciscan Capuchin of the sixteenth century, Saint Felix of Cantalice, the Felicians were founded by Blessed Mary Angela (then called Sophia Truszkauska) in Poland in 1855. While she began her work among the orphaned children in Warsaw , Blessed Mary Angela and her followers quickly adopted the approach still followed today: prayer linked with direct service.
The Felicians arrived in America in 1874. Although already a presence in Pennsylvania in 1888, it was not until 1921 that Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Province was established, followed by the opening of the Coraopolis convent in 1932.
Source: www.felicianspa.org