Denekamp, NL
Mission House St. Anthony in Denekamp, the Netherlands
The young community of Franciscan sisters in Thuine had barely existed for six years when its existence was already threatened during the Kulturkampf (1872-1888) by the increasingly harsh measures taken by Bismarck's government against the Catholic Church, especially the religious orders. This made them consider a mission house abroad in order to be able to escape there. Thus, the estate "Het Gravenhuis" in the Netherlands was purchased. On June 28, 1875, Mother M. Anselma brought the first three sisters to the Gravenhuis. Soon the parish priest Father van den Bosch of Denekamp commended the sick in the village and the wider area to the sisters. In accordance with the motto "They came to serve," their work spread: in the care of the sick, in the education and formation of young people, and in pastoral work in the diocese of Utrecht and beyond.
The founding of the missions in Indonesia in 1932 and in Tanzania in 1960 was largely carried out by the Dutch Province, which existed from 1953 to 2021.
In the meantime, the sisters have consolidated to a mission house in Denekamp, which is assigned to the Generalate. The Dutch sisters, who have already reached retirement age, spend their remaining years here. The Indonesian sisters, who came to Denekamp in 2000, invite guests to Franciscushuis on the convent grounds, a place of rest, reflection, and encounter.
Assisi, IT
Since December 2005 our Congregation has a convent in Assisi: L'oasi "Pace è bene", this is the name of our house, where two sisters live.
Our house is located above the Basilica of Saint Francis and has 8 guest rooms. The name says something about the purpose of the house: it should be an "oasis of peace and renewal" for our sisters. They have the opportunity to spend their vacation in Assisi and to become more deeply rooted in the Franciscan spirituality.
Delvinë, Al
At the request of the Apostolic Administrator of Southern Albania, Franciscan Bishop Hil Kabashi, we opened a mission in Delvine, Albania on August 14, 2001 with four sisters. Five sisters are currently stationed there.
The convent chapel has become a base of support for the Church in the region and the place from which our sisters undertake pastoral work, i.e. sacramental preparation, preparing and organizing religious services, as well as making home visits and taking care of sacristy needs. They maintain a boarding school for girls and also provide a homework assistance program. One sister is active in social work with the Caritas organization.
The sisters face the daily challenges of living in a former socialist-atheist state, in immediate proximity with Muslims, as leaven for a small Christian cell. Within this context, the primary service of the sisters is one of presence to those to whom they have been sent.
