Who We Are
The Cistercian Nuns of the Strict Observance (OCSO)
The Cistercian Nuns of the Strict Observance (OCSO) of Dubuque, IA, are more commonly known as the Trappistines. Situated south of Dubuque on a bluff near the Mississippi River their monastery, Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, numbers 25 sisters. The foundresses began this community from Wrentham, MA in 1964. A monastic contemplative community, their primary focus is a community life of prayer and worship with a stress on silence, solitude and manual work, praying the Liturgy of the Hours six to seven times a day. They support themselves through a candy factory and a sustainable organic farm. They are happy to share their peaceful, wooded environment with persons who would like to come for a self-directed retreat or time of spiritual refreshment. Recently five members of the community went to Trondheim, Norway to re-establish Cistercian life after 450 years.
The Congregation of the Humility of Mary (CHM)
The Congregation of the Humility of Mary (CHM) or simply Sisters of Humility. Founded in France in 1854 and now headquartered in Davenport, IA, the community is represented in 21 states, Mexico, Canada and Haiti with 146 vowed members and 82 associates. Ministries include teaching and school administration, counseling, nursing and health care, parish and hospital pastoral care, law, journalism, social work and Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat near Wheatland, IA. "Like our founders, we strive to be attentive to the call of the Spirit in the signs of our times, especially the needs of the poor and the powerless. We commit ourselves to work for justice within the human family and to care for the earth itself."
The Discalced Carmelites (OCD)
The Discalced Carmelites (OCD) of Eldridge, IA, are a contemplative community of 18 nuns whose monastery is situated in the rural section of Eldridge. They are a Teresian (St. Teresa of Avila) community renewed in the spirit of Vatican II. "Bonded in the spirit of Carmel we are women of faith who desire to live out Gospel values through our commitment to an Apostolic Life of Prayer and to the development of a Community of Love." (Vision Statement-Carmel in the Heartland) They are here for the benefit of others through their life of prayer and sacrifice. They also desire to share their gifts in simple ways. Currently there are 22 men and women who are associates of the Carmelites. They share with them a vision of the earth community become aware of its life in God by simply seeing God in the ordinary.
The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA)
The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA), founded in 1849, are a 380-member congregation of women religious headquartered in La Crosse, WI. They sponsor a university, several hospitals, four spirituality centers and work in a variety of other educational, health care, social justice and church ministries in 19 states and in Guam, Canada, El Salvador, Mexico and Zimbabwe. With them are 200 lay affiliates-women and men who share their Franciscan spirituality and vision.
The Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary (OP)
The Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary (OP) was founded in 1847 by Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP. The congregation is headquartered in Sinsinawa, WI. The membership includes about 650 vowed members, more than 200 associates and shared members of Dominican Volunteers USA. The sisters live the Dominican charism to preach and teach the Gospel and serve in ministry in 35 states and three foreign countries. The congregation sponsors Dominican University, River Forest, IL, and Edgewood College, Madison, WI. They also sponsor a number of elementary and secondary schools in the Midwest.
The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)
The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) is a 635-member religious community based in Dubuque, IA. Founded in Philadelphia in 1833 by Mary Frances Clarke and Rev. Terence J. Donaghoe, BVMs were the first women religious in the Iowa Territory. They minister in education, parishes, peace and justice centers, hospital pastoral care, counseling, spiritual direction and administration. BVM sisters serve in 26 states and in Ecuador, Guatemala and Ghana. They founded and continue to support Clarke College and the Roberta Kuhn Center for senior citizens, both in Dubuque. They co-sponsor Carmel High School in Mundelein, IL. One hundred fifty-six lay persons are BVM associates.
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (RSM)
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (RSM), a regional community in Cedar Rapids, IA, was founded by Catherine McAuley in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland. They came to the United States in 1843 and arrived in Cedar Rapids in 1875. They are involved in a variety of works including the environment, justice, health care, education, pastoral ministry, housing, counseling and adult literacy. There are 80 vowed members and 62 associates (plus 12 in discernment). They sponsor Mount Mercy College, Mercy Medical Center and the Catherine McAuley Center for Women, all in Cedar Rapids; the House of Mercy in Waterloo; and are co-sponsors of Mercy Housing, Inc., providing affordable housing for low income families.
The Sisters of St. Francis (OSF)
The Sisters of St. Francis (OSF), of Clinton, IA, were founded in Gethsemani, KY, in 1866, to teach the daughters of farmers of eastern Kentucky following the Civil War. In 1890, they migrated to Iowa, establishing their motherhouse in Clinton in 1893. The mission of the Clinton Franciscans is peacemaking, the heart of the Franciscan charism. They commit themselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and to promoting it in society, to advocating for justice for persons who are poor and marginalized, and to kinship with creation. The congregation includes 78 vowed members, 2 candidate, 3 sojourners and 75 associates who are dedicated to prayer and to serving others in a variety of ministries. They sponsor the Alverno Health Care Facility and the Mount St. Clare Speech and Hearing Center in Clinton, the Mount St. Clare Education Foundation and the Clinton Franciscan "Center" for Active Nonviolence.
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Family (OSF)
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Family (OSF), Dubuque, IA, have 374 vowed members and 109 associates. They were founded in 1864 in Herford, Germany, by Mother Xavier Termehr, to care for orphans and teach in the parish school. Exiled from Germany due to Bismarck's Kulturkampf, they emigrated to Iowa City in 1875 and moved to Dubuque in 1878. Today the ministries of the congregation are many and diverse, with a special preference for working with and among the poor and culturally oppressed of the United States and Honduras. Sponsored institutions include Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, IA and Mercy Medical Center, Shalom Retreat Center, Stonehill Franciscan Services and Alverno Apartments, all in Dubuque.
The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM)
The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), Dubuque, IA, came to the United States in 1874 from Mooncoin, Ireland, to teach the children of Irish immigrants. Today, the congregation numbers 140 members who serve in the United States in the urban and rural Midwest, the Southwest and the South, Appalachia, the District of Columbia and in Bolivia. The work of the Presentation sisters includes educational and pastoral ministries and direct service to the marginalized, especially Hispanics. With over 3,000 other Presentation sisters of 25 other countries, the Dubuque PBVMs network globally through the International Presentation Association.
The Sisters of the Visitation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SVM)
The Sisters of the Visitation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SVM), Dubuque, IA, trace their beginnings to the charism of St. Jane de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales, founders of the Visitation in 1610 in France. The Visitation Sisters arrived in Dubuque in 1871 and are involved in teaching and various pastoral ministries.
The Sisters of St. Benedict (OSB)
The Sisters of St. Benedict (OSB), Rock Island, IL, are a monastic community of women formed by the Gospel and the Rule of St. Benedict. More commonly known as Benedictine Sisters, the community was founded in 1874 by five sisters from St. Scholastica Convent in Chicago. The newly-erected St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island, IL, is where the 60- member community relocated from Nauvoo, IL in November 2001. The sisters' primary ministry is to seek God in community though a balanced life of prayer and work in a spirit of hospitality. Ministries include spiritual direction, retreat and parish work, outreach to the poor, campus ministry, education, social work, and community service. More than 200 oblates, women and men, share in the Benedictine monastic values of prayer and work in their particular circumstances.
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