Is There A Franciscan Community That Works In Nursing Homes Or Visits

[foolishmortal]

...that or a totally contemplative one. I can be fun for people, but there's some serious crazy stuff I fear will happen in 4 years and I have a huge prayer debt, anyway, but Franciscan (Capuchins and other connected offshoots too) saints have always been my favorites.

[Gemma]

[quote name='foolishmortal' post='1700586' date='Nov 13 2008, 01:28 PM']...that or a totally contemplative one. I can be fun for people, but there's some serious crazy stuff I fear will happen in 4 years and I have a huge prayer debt, anyway, but Franciscan (Capuchins and other connected offshoots too) saints have always been my favorites.[/quote]


Male or female?

Blessings,
Gemma

[dominicansoul]

The Seraphic Sisters are a community out of Poland that run nursing homes and homes for children.

They actually have a community in San Antonio, TX, where they run the St. Francis Nursing Home...

Beautiful, beautiful community! Wear a very beautiful Franciscan habit, pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Hours of Adoration and a beautiful devotion to the Blessed Mother...

...not to mention their home is one of the best-run facilities in Texas...

[url="http://seraphicsisters.org/index.asp"]http://seraphicsisters.org/index.asp[/url]

[dominicansoul]

...not to mention...they were founded by a Capuchin!

[foolishmortal]

[quote name='dominicansoul' post='1701129' date='Nov 14 2008, 10:44 AM']...not to mention...they were founded by a Capuchin![/quote]
Thanks! I'm thinking of male communities

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='foolishmortal' post='1701882' date='Nov 15 2008, 03:11 AM']Thanks! I'm thinking of male communities[/quote]

okay...

i don't know any... but i'm sure they are out there!

[littlesister]

Little Brothers of St. Francis in Boston visit.

Glenmary had a couple of brothers working in one a few years ago. Don't know about the present.

[Sister Rose Therese]

There are some franciscan brothers in Springfield, Illinois that run a home that takes care of mentally disabled men. I don't know much more about them than that.

[stlmom]

We have the Franciscan Missionary Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, just outside of the St. Louis metropolitan area in Pacific, Missouri. They are a small community that operates a nursing home. They originated in Poland.

[RosaMystica]

the Capuchins here in Detroit are amazing!

[SaintIrene]

This sounds like what you're looking for:
[b]
Order of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary[/b]
[url="http://www.heartsofjesusandmary.org/"]http://www.heartsofjesusandmary.org/[/url]

They are a men's and women's community in Ohio who pray 7 hours a day and also do some works of mercy by going out to nursing homes and to hospice patient's homes to minister to them.

Patrons include some Franciscans:
Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary
St. Joseph
St. Francis
Padre Pio
St. Louis de Montfort
(this list is not all-inclusive)

[u][i]Some other possibilities:[/i][/u] found searching here: [url="http://www.religiouslife.com/vocationsearch.html"]http://www.religiouslife.com/vocationsearch.html[/url]

[b]Servants of Charity[/b] - work with the poor and disabled
[url="http://www.servantsofcharity.org/"]http://www.servantsofcharity.org/[/url]
[url="http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/32"]http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/32[/url]

[b]Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary[/b] - some nursing home/assisted living ministries
[url="http://www.missionofsacredhearts.org/"]http://www.missionofsacredhearts.org/[/url]
[url="http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/383"]http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/383[/url]

[b]Order of Friars Minor Conventual, St. Bonaventure Province[/b] - ministries with the poor; site says ministries correspond with the friar's abilities, and they came up on the IRL search under health/hospital care, so I would assume that type of work is a possibility
[url="http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/134"]http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/134[/url]
[url="http://www.franciscancommunity.com/"]http://www.franciscancommunity.com/[/url]

[b]Little Brothers of St. Francis[/b] - contemplative among the poor: "They strive to imitate and experience the three great loves of St. Francis: Eucharistic adoration and liturgical prayer, ministry to the 'lepers' of society, and actual poverty like Christ and His Apostles."
[url="http://www.littlebrothersofstfrancis.org/"]http://www.littlebrothersofstfrancis.org/[/url]
[url="http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/11"]http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/11[/url]

[b]Franciscan Brothers of Peace[/b] - "The brothers carry out various ministries, such as collecting food and clothing for the needy, ministering to international survivors of torture, witnessing at a juvenile detention center, sidewalk counseling at an abortion clinic and creating religious icons."
[url="http://www.brothersofpeace.org/"]http://www.brothersofpeace.org/[/url]
[url="http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/104"]http://db.religiouslife.com/reg_life/irl.nsf/org/104[/url]

Edit note: added 2 communities

Edited November 24, 2008 by SaintIrene

[Thomist-in-Training]

[quote name='SaintIrene' post='1708971' date='Nov 23 2008, 09:08 PM']This sounds like what you're looking for:
[b]
Order of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary[/b]
[url="http://www.heartsofjesusandmary.org/"]http://www.heartsofjesusandmary.org/[/url]

They are a men's and women's community in Ohio who pray 7 hours a day and also do some works of mercy by going out to nursing homes and to hospice patient's homes to minister to them.

Patrons include some Franciscans:
Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary
St. Joseph
St. Francis
Padre Pio
St. Louis de Montfort
(this list is not all-inclusive)[/quote]

Hmm... that's interesting--the schedule looks pretty solid, and you can't fault the Two Hearts for patrons! But I thought men's and women's communities were very rare--the... Norbertines or Camoldolese? or are those the same? are the only ones I can think of that had recently or maybe still have "double" monasteries next door to each other with shared chapel. So I would tread very carefully there. "Entre santa y santo, pared de cal y de canto!" (Between holy man and holy woman, a wall of bricks and mortar--St. Teresa of Avila)

Also, if I am not mistaken there are no more Orders and haven't been since the thirteenth century, with the Franciscan and Dominican Orders. Wasn't it that the Popes got fed up with all the new Orders and said there weren't to be any more, and thus everything since has been a sort of Congregation or Institute or Society or Fraternity? But they name it the "Order of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts." Hmm. But they mention that the 1997 Bishop of Steubenville was involved, but not his name. A little confusing to me.

[SaintIrene]

Dear Thomist-in-Training,

Thanks for your comments. I am not a part of that community nor have I even visited. If you would like answers to your questions, I would suggest contacting the community themselves and perhaps their diocese.

My intent was to simply pass on the information. The OP wanted a very contemplative community that visits nursing homes and has Franciscan spirituality, and this is the closest one that I know of.

God bless,
Irene

[littlesister]

This might be a case of the-future-going-back-to-the-past, instead of something going-back-to-the-future. One of the original Brothers had a Camaldolese background, and became involved with this new group while he was studying at Steubenville. Bishop Gilbert Sheldon (now retired) saw a number of initiatives coming out of the University. As I recall, he is also the one who ordained the professor as a permanent deacon not too long before the Two Hearts community started to take shape.

[foolishmortal]

Thank you all!



[quote name='littlesister' post='1711079' date='Nov 25 2008, 08:56 PM']This might be a case of the-future-going-back-to-the-past, instead of something going-back-to-the-future. One of the original Brothers had a Camaldolese background, and became involved with this new group while he was studying at Steubenville. Bishop Gilbert Sheldon (now retired) saw a number of initiatives coming out of the University. As I recall, he is also the one who ordained the professor as a permanent deacon not too long before the Two Hearts community started to take shape.[/quote]