In this Issue:

Catholic Star Herald Article

Pumpkin Decorating & Carving

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Halloween

St. Joseph's Founders Day Celebration

Reflection on Anne Bock and Jane Kopas

With Gratitude - Thank You

Franciscan Center Hurricane Update

BayCare Hurricane Donations

St. Anthony's Hurricane Update

Flu Shot Clinic

Election Day Prayer

Celebrating Years of Service

NC Hurricane Update

Remembering FSA History

Kathie Uhler Palestine Trip

November Birthday List

Send Us Your News

Catholic Star Herald Article

Re: Rosemarie Kolmer, OSF

Sr. Mary Lou Lafferty received an article and wanted to share it as it pertains to Sr. Rosemarie.

Pumpkin Decorating & Carving

The talented and creative employees of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse are displaying their artwork for this year's pumpkin decorating contest.

Pumpkin carver/artist extraordinaire Eric Jones stopped by St. Elizabeth Motherhouse to share his talent with sisters and staff. One of his next stops will be in Malibu, California, where he'll be carving the world's largest pumpkin -- nearly 2,500 pounds!

The hospital says Spirit of Children’s ongoing support brings joy and helps make the hospital experience less scary for children. Spirit of Children brings Halloween cheer to more than 160 partner hospitals across North America, including St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. 

Spirit of Children helped patients and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital get into the Halloween spirit with a recent celebration, which included costumes, arts & crafts and goodie bags.

Through their support, the Child Life Department can provide therapeutic, developmental, and educational resources to make hospital stays more comfortable for their young patients.

St. Joseph's Founders Day Celebration

As part of the Founders Day celebration St. Joseph’s Hospitals Mission Coordinator Katrina Gill had team members tell stories about some of the Sisters who worked at the hospital.

Reflection on Anne Bock & Jane Kopas

By: Robin Roche, Associate

Over the past few months our South Jersey Associates celebrated the life of two good and faithful women. They were true Franciscans and embodied the Spirit of the Allegany Franciscan charism. While we feel their absence, we will long remember their contributions to our community.

 Anne Bock was a woman of strong faith and a gentle heart. While her faith was unwavering, she was not afraid to question and on several occasions share some things she was definitely going to ask God about when she arrived home. She often reflected on ways she could reach out to those less fortunate. She told the story of the man in front of the theater who she always gave money to and after her friend, Sister Pat, asked her if she ever spoke to him, she made it a point to engage him in conversation each time she went to the theater. She was prayerful and reflective and always strove to embrace the lepers in her life.  Although she was often a private person when she shared in our group her deep love for God and Francis were evident.

When I first met Jane so many years ago while we were both Franciscan Sisters in Allegany, I first saw her as a scholar and a theologian. She taught at Scranton University, and they named the Jane Kopas Women’s Center after her. I was somewhat intimidated by her awesomeness and yet when we worked together on women’s issues, I found her empowering, and she was one of the first people to call me to leadership and make me rethink my role as a woman in the Church. Jane was a gentle presence but when she shared in our group it was evident she was a woman of profound faith.  Throughout her life she reverenced creation and always gave witness to the dignity of each person as the image of God.

They were friends, women of great faith, and very much a part of our South Jersey community. They will forever be a part of us not only because they ministered to others, accepted the challenge of the Gospel, and broke bread with us but because they were also women of vision who truly lived the Franciscan-Clarian way of life. We will miss them, but we give them back to God knowing we were graced and blessed because of their presence among us.

With Gratitude - Thank You

From Sr. Alba Luz

Words of Thanksgiving for the

celebration of my

Profession of Vows

What a long-awaited and beautiful day.

Time has just flown by since my

first profession of vows on the

Feast of St. Clare of Assisi,

August 11, 2024

Each one of you that attended to my First Profession of Vows, would merit a personal ‘Thank You’: by your presence, and the persons online, you remind me that this vocation is not my vocation but God’s vocation. Everyone that has made an appearance in my life has left an indelible imprint and contributed to the ‘bigger’ picture, bringing me to where I am now. I can only hope that my gratitude can find its expression in prayer and in sharing with you that I am truly happy to arrive at this day.

Tiny little pieces put together color by color and forging something unforgettable, something that fits perfectly into the master plan, God’s handiwork where His Grace allowed my paths to meet in life. Reflecting back upon the years of my life, I have found that the pieces fit perfectly, not always by my doing and not always by my understanding. 

Happiness and pain fit together because one cannot know one without the other. The ups and downs all mean there is a perfect balance somewhere and I spent my waking hours searching for it, knowing that I am restless until I rest in God. 

Thank you, God, for giving me the strength to keep going.

- Sr. Alba Luz

Franciscan Center Hurricane Update

Brian Lemoi, executive director of The Franciscan Center, has given

an update on work done before, during and after the recent hurricanes.

BayCare Hurricane Donations

BayCare announced it is donating $300,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay, Metropolitan Ministries and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. All three are existing partners in BayCare’s Community Benefit efforts to impact public health. These hurricane contributions are in addition to Community Benefit investments. 

You can read more here:

St. Anthony's Hurricane Update

In the days and hours leading up to Hurricane Milton, St. Anthony's Hospital teams had looked at wind and surge, staffing and supplies. As the Category 3 storm landed 50 miles to the south late on Oct. 9, the teams prepared to hunker down and ride out the storm. Little did they realize the challenges still to come to keep safe the hospital’s 361 patients and 800 team members and physicians. 

Interrupted water service, uncertain sewage capacity and offline generators were just a few of the obstacles they faced. On top of that, an internet failure shut down communication, medical records and computer systems. 

But the team kept working through the night to ensure patient safety and keep the hospital operating.

You can read more of the story here:

Flu Shot Clinic

St. Elizabeth Motherhouse

Sisters, Motherhouse staff and Congregational Office staff participated in a flu and Covid shot clinic to keep themselves and each other safe.

Election Day Prayer

Last week Sisters, staff and the community participated in a Holy Hour in Anticipation of Election Day. This is one prayer (and its introduction) that was said during that time:

St. Elizabeth Motherhouse

Celebrating Years of Service

Employees at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse are being celebrated for their years of service. Pictured, from left, are Patricia Friedhaber, Nursing, 20 years; Steven Mowrer, Dietary, 5 years; Sharon Pounds, Housekeeping, 5 years; Amy Booker, Director of Nursing, 5 years; Debra Loop, Dietary Manager, 15 years.

North Carolina Hurricane Update

Overwhelming. 

That emotion was the most prevalent when talking about the St. Elizabeth Motherhouse hurricane relief effort.

Motherhouse maintenance director John Bhe said it started with the response from within the building as employees donated thousands of pounds of food and supplies, along with thousands of dollars in cash.

Then the community got involved, donating more supplies, food and money. 

When John and Motherhouse driver/librarian Mike Pennington got to North Carolina, they were overwhelmed again by the devastation caused by the storm, but also by the resilience, gratitude and hospitality shown by the people who live in and around storm-ravaged Burnsville, NC, about 40 miles north of Asheville. 

John says local woman, and volunteer, Amanda McCurry Austin was also overwhelmed by the generosity. She left this message on John’s Facebook page: I have to say, the generosity you all have shown has been nothing short of AMAZING. We appreciate everything you all have provided and done for us. Each of you folks hold a very special place in my heart forever. None of these things are possible without support from folks like you guys, and I speak for all of us when we say THANK YOU, and we will always LOVE YOU ALL!

While they were there, John, Mike and their brother-in-law and nephew, respectively, also helped load some bales of hay for a local farmer and removed a downed tree from Amanda’s yard and driveway.

Monetary donations are also being collected. As of Oct. 25, the Motherhouse has received $7,192.07 in cash donations. With the Congregation match, the total is $14,384.14. Sisters who don’t live in the Motherhouse and Associates have contributed $755. The Congregation will match that total as well.

You can see pictures of John and Mike’s journey here:

St. Anthony of Padua School

Remembering FSA History

When St. Elizabeth Motherhouse staff and sisters started an effort to help people in hurricane-ravaged Western North Carolina, it wasn’t the first time the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany served that area.

St. Anthony of Padua School in Asheville, North Carolina, was the last school accepted by Mother Dominica. It opened in 1936 and remained there until 1969.

When the Franciscan friars of Holy Name Province arrived in Asheville in 1933 the few Catholics who were there were taught by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Daughters of Christian Education, who started a class for neglected Black people. 

After establishing St. Anthony Parish in Asheville, the friars asked the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany to take charge of the parochial school. On September 19, 1936, Mother M. Constance Murray, Sisters M. DePaul O’Connell and M. Florentine Flanagan, as well as a postulant, arrived. 

The school started with an enrollment of 106 and had increased to 132 by June. At first, classes were held in the church but eventually a separate building was erected for the school. (Pictured. Photo by Richard Hansley)

According to FSA archives, because of The Great Depression, many of the parishioners were in need of the basic necessities of life, so the sisters helped provide food and clothing, as well as education.

The archives also say St. Anthony’s children were noted for their good manners, good conduct and achievement in their studies. 

The school served primarily African American students. Over the years, more than 40 sisters worked there, including Sister Joan Carberry and Sister Roseanne Duffy.

We’ll have more on this story in coming newsletters.

Ready for Palestine!

By: Kathie Uhler, OSF

My flight is all set on Royal Jordanian Airlines for Thursday, November 7th. I will travel alone and arrive in Amman, Jordan on Friday, November 8th at 4:15 PM. This is too late to enter Palestine, so I will stay there overnight in a hostel and travel through the Israeli controlled King Hussein/Allenby Crossing on Saturday, November 9th. All very much the LORD willing, please, with your prayers. My return flight is set for Tuesday, November 19th. 

With the withdrawal of two members, the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Delegation that I was in for the trip was cancelled. However, the CPT Team in Hebron, our host Team, encouraged the rest of us to come as individuals. Six agreed; we have met, planned with the Team and got to know each other a bit through several Zoom calls. 

So far, so good! Well, the news is another story, indeed: yet the Hebron Team remains positive of our coming. I am grateful to be a part of this adventure to support the Hebron Team in their daily work of peacebuilding. I am also thankful and in awe of the wholehearted support shown me from Day One by Sr. Margaret Magee! Without her belief and trust in the purpose of my Palestine Trip, it could not have happened. Thank you, Margaret!

Happy Birthday!

We Want to Hear From You!

We would love to include more news from Brazil, Bolivia, Jamaica and Mozambique in our newsletter. If you have any pictures, tidbits of information or bigger stories you’d like to share please email them to

FSA Communications Coordinator

Anne Holliday anne.holliday@fsallegany.org

If you have any questions about whether it’s something that could or should go in this newsletter, you can ask Anne about that, too. But she’ll probably say, “Yes, send it.” 😊