The Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis are a Catholic apostolic congregation of pontifical right based in Reading, Pennsylvania. The order was founded in 1894 by Mother Veronica Grzedowska, a Polish nun from Zakliczyn, for the instruction of poor girls in a parish in Mount Carmel. As of 2010, the order had more than 380 members in more than 50 houses.
Ministries
The following are among this organization's areas of ministry:
- Education (early, elementary, secondary, special, and higher)
- Elder care
- Foreign missions
- Healthcare
- Homecare
- Ministry (diocesan, pastoral, retreat, social)
- Outreach to the poor
- Prison ministry
References
- "Who We Are," in "About Us." Reading, Pennsylvania: Bernardine Franciscan Sisters: An International Congregration of Religious Women (website), retrieved online February 23, 2019.
- Comerford, Thomas J., John Joseph McCabe, et al., eds. Souvenir of Dual Jubilee: Consecration of the Rt. Rev. M. J. Hoban, D.D. (1896-1921): "The Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis (Polish)", pp. 175-176. Scranton, Pennsylvania: International Textbook Press, 1922.
- "Who We Are,"Bernardine Franciscan Sisters (website).
- "St. Mary's, Reading (1888 - 2017)." Reading, Pennsylvania: Go Reading Berks (website), retrieved online February 23, 2019.