Our Ministries

sprung from the heart of the Father

The heart of our life of ministry is to make known God’s merciful love, particularly among the poor, the sick, and those in need of renewal of their faith. Through our commitment to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, we follow the pattern of Christ and His faithful servant St. Francis in preaching by both word and deed. We desire to bring God’s mercy into the world so that all may be reconciled and brought into communion with Him.

"Through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy, we become spiritual mothers, like Mary, in bearing and giving birth to Christ anew in our world."

-Statutes 2.4

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Prayer is our primary ministry.  As contemplatives in the world, sent to make known God’s merciful love, our witness would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated His face. Our life and mission flow from our life of prayer. It is in prayer that we drink freely of the fountain of the Lord’s goodness, foster continuous dialogue with our beloved Savior and Spouse, and grow in the desire to make intercession and reparation for the Body of Christ and for the world.“Through our prayer, we receive God’s heart for the people we encounter and entrust them into His loving hands, asking Him to make our ministry fruitful” (Constitutions 91).

"The new evangelization, like that of all times, will be effective if it proclaims from the rooftops what it has first lived in intimacy with the Lord."

-Vita Consecrata 81

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Our ministry with the materially poor is part of our very identity as sisters who have chosen to live in poverty, entrusted by God with a charism of poverty. Formal ministry with the poor takes place both in downtown Steubenville, Ohio and in Tallahassee, Florida, while each house is charged to be attentive to the poor wherever they may be and however they are disguised.

Currently, our ministry in downtown Steubenville is in a time of transition as we begin a closer collaboration with Urban Mission. Sisters spend time assisting in the corporal works of mercy done at the Mission and also offer our presence, love, and companionship to our family downtown. This includes serving several times a week at Urban Mission's Food Warehouse and Urban Thrift Store. We pray with people and teach them how to pray, offer religious instruction, including a weekly Bible study, in more and less formal settings, and lead praise and worship music. At the same time, we are listening - to God, to our brothers and sisters, and to one another - and discerning how the Lord is inviting us to serve his "favorites" moving forward.

In Tallahassee, we serve at The Dwellings, a housing community for those who are financially, socially, or institutionally disadvantaged. One of our sisters visits the residents during the week to offer a friendly face and a listening heart. She also assists in the community garden and visits shut-ins. There is a large number of homeless in Tallahassee, because of the warmer climate, so the sisters have a “car ministry” of giving snacks and water to people on street corners.

Each Friday, our sisters bring a group of junior high students from a local Catholic school to visit one of the soup kitchens in downtown Steubenville. Many of these students have never served at a soup kitchen before, and through our ministry, they have the opportunity to learn to share Christ’s mercy and to build up the dignity of those in need. “Our ministry aims to restore the dignity of those who through poverty, various forms of oppression, or suffering, have lost the sense of their preciousness as being a son or daughter of God” (Constitutions 88).

Visiting the sick and bringing Holy Communion to those suffering in nursing homes is one of our treasured weekly ministries. Often nursing home residents are lonely or neglected and so we simply offer our presence and our time to remind them they are not forgotten or alone. “We recognize that our caring presence as religious gives others a witness of hope, provides them an experience of the care of Christ and His Church, and encourages them to draw closer to God.  For this reason, we view being present among people who are suffering and being present in circumstances where encouragement and hope are needed as a valuable ministry, even if we are seemingly ‘doing’ very little” (Statutes 5.1).

"As spouses of Christ, we seek to console Him through the love and care we show to those with whom He identified Himself."

-Constitutions 84

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We are committed to the spiritual works of mercy through evangelization, renewing the fullness of Catholic life, and fostering growth in prayer. We are open to ministries which involve evangelization of those who have not heard the Good News, of those who have forgotten Christ, or of those who have been hindered from receiving God’s love fully into their lives. Our mission to renew the fullness of Catholic life is a response to the Church’s urgent call for the new evangelization. This includes leading parish missions and retreats, speaking at various conferences, and offering spiritual direction. Our mission of evangelization also includes campus ministry at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Florida State University, where we reach out to young adults at a critical time in their search for God.

"In our various outreaches, we seek to bring others to a personal relationship with  Jesus and to experience new life through the Holy Spirit, who draws all to the bosom of the Father and the inner life of the Trinity."

-Constitutions 80

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Santa Chiara Mission House is located on the campus of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Greccio Mission House is at Franciscan University's study abroad campus in Gaming, Austria. Our sisters at both of these mission houses witness to the joy and beauty of consecrated life and serve in the areas of Pastoral Care, Evangelization, and campus Liturgy. Our sisters on main campus offer spiritual direction and guidance, residence hall chaplaincy, prayer groups, and participate in various formation and retreat programs. Our sisters in Austria also offer spiritual direction and guidance, host Scripture groups, coordinate Women's Ministry events as well as the student-led praise and worship events, and assist in chapel ministries. They also accompany the students on pilgrimages to Rome, Assisi, Poland, Vienna, and Salzburg, offering tours in Rome and Assisi.

Our sisters at St. Elizabeth Mission House in Tallahassee, Florida, serve as campus ministers at the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University. Their ministry of evangelization includes women's outreach, spiritual advising, retreats, mission trips, and supervising student committees, one of which helps students to serve the poor in the local area.

At Our Lady of Sorrows Motherhouse Monastery in Toronto, Ohio, our main ministry is hospitality. We welcome our sisters back to the motherhouse for prayer and rest between assignments and at other times. Other visitors are welcome every day at Father of Mercy Chapel for Mass and prayer, including morning and evening holy hours, the Liturgy of the Hours, praise and worship, intercessory prayer, the Rosary, and Stations of the Cross. We also host annual events such as our Open House, Lenten Retreat, All Souls’ Day Mass, and the Share His Mercy Benefit Banquet Mass. Vocation Discernment Retreats and Come and See Visits are offered at the motherhouse throughout the year for women who are discerning a religious vocation.

" Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you."

-Romans 15:7

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Because every aspect of our lives are surrendered to Christ, we also value our work as a ministry that bears fruit for the kingdom. Read more about our work.