Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, NY

With the new school year underway, we want to send along our best wishes for a happy and productive year to teachers, students, parents, and everyone associated with the schools. In case you missed this: St. Bonaventure University just welcomed more than 580 freshmen to campus, boosting the total enrollment to more than 3,000 – the largest in the university’s 167-year history. How did they manage to accomplish that? 

Pictured, the Opening Mass in the Grotto at St. Bonaventure.

Because of the political situation in Bolivia, especially regarding the recent and upcoming elections, we thought people could benefit from this article that appeared in the New York Times.

Spend any time around a group of Franciscans, or those associated with them, and you’re bound to hear the words “Franciscan Joy.”

So, it only seems fitting that BayCare, an organization that grew from Allegany Franciscan roots, has earned recognition from the American Medical Association as a Joy in Medicine® organization.  

The prestigious recognition from the country’s leading physician’s association honors health systems, hospitals and medical groups that prioritize proven methods to reduce burnout and enhance the professional fulfillment of doctors that come from patient care. 

“BayCare is honored to receive the bronze 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine award. We take tremendous pride in prioritizing the well-being of our physicians,” said BayCare Chief Physician Executive Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan. “This milestone is a clear reminder that wellness-focused leadership is critical. When we focus on the well-being of our physicians, they can focus on the joy of providing compassionate care that is aligned with their talents and our mission, vision and values.”

The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany founded St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1931, and St. Joseph’s Hospital near downtown Tampa, Florida, in 1934. St. Anthony’s and St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s-North, St. Joseph’s-South, St. Joseph’s Women’s and St. Joseph’s Children’s are all part of the BayCare healthcare system.

Sisters, friars, and staff always enjoy Michael Morton’s petting zoo. Wednesday’s event at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse was no exception.

I recently joined with some of my neighbors, one of whom is a Mennonite Minister, to help pack school kits for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).  

Each handmade drawstring bag contained four spiral notebooks, one ruler, eight pencils, four pens, 10 colored pencils, one eraser and one pencil sharpener.  While we were at the warehouse we packed up well over 200 kits. 

This is just one of the MCC's ongoing world-wide supports to aid people in need around the world. In the 2023-2024 school year the number of school kits they shipped to Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Sudan, Ukraine, Zambia and the US totaled 81,048.

The warehouse is an amazing facility. Earlier this year I also helped pack disaster kits for distribution mostly in the US after fire and floods. They also do canned meat packing - something I hope to help with in the future.