History Our Foundress Spiritual Heritage Life and Mission

Our story begins in the 18th century when Sophia Truszkowska joined the Third Order of St Francis receiving the name of Mary Angela. She began her ministry gathering orphaned children and widows. There were many who found themselves homeless because of the wars and political insurrections at that time and Sophia and her companions were happy to take care of them.

Sophia rented an attic room to provide them shelter. She taught them and made sure they had food. As time went on and the numbers of children and elderly homeless grew, other women began to follow her example and offered to help her with the work. Additional space was rented as the community expanded and the needs of the people became more evident.

On November 21, 1855 Sophia and her cousin Clothilde, her companion from the beginning, formed a religious community under the spiritual direction of a Polish Capuchin, Father Honorat Kozminski. They consecrated their work to God under the patronage of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Sophia then became Mother Mary Angela.

Taking the children in their care for daily walks the Sisters would stop at the Capuchin church and pray before the shrine of St. Felix, a Capuchin lay brother. Upon observing this, the people in the town began to call them Felician Sisters and this remains the name of our community today.

Five Sisters were chosen as the “Pioneer Sisters” and began the long and arduous journey across the ocean. When they arrived in New York City, they were approached by a gentleman from a foreign aid society who assisted the sisters in finding a place to stay so that they could regain their strength and continue their mission. With just a few coins and great trust in God’s providential care they took a train to Chicago and from there, traveled by stagecoach to Steven’s Point, Wisconsin, a short distance from Polonia, Wisconsin, their destination.

And so it was by Divine Providence that on November 21, 1874, these first five Felician pioneers undertook their mission in the United States. They created schools where they taught the children of the Polish immigrants. Then, in the evenings, they taught reading, writing and math skills to the children's parents. Never able to turn away from those in need, they also educated the children of the Native Americans in the towns in which they ministered.

In time, the Felician Sisters began to expand their works in the United States and then Canada— bringing the “Good News” of Jesus wherever they went. They surmounted any trials they encountered by their faith in a loving and Provident Father. Their journey took them to Detroit, to Chicago, to Buffalo, to Lodi, to Enfield, to Coroapolis and Rio Rancho in the United States as well as to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Mother Angela always sought to answer the needs of the poor as she saw them. In Poland she began by gathering the poor and addressing their needs. Her sisters in America did the same by organizing schools to take care of the educational needs of the people. Eventually they began to realize the need for hospitals and orphanages. They reached out by organizing soup kitchens and other ministries. Always they sought to see and serve Christ in those to whom they ministered.

Today we follow in her footsteps recognizing and defining the needs of the people as they are presented to us. We continue our mission of education in schools and outreach programs, taking care of physical needs in hospitals and nursing homes, the needs of those who are physically and mentally handicapped, the needs of those who struggle with addictions and the needs of those who seek guidance through spiritual direction and retreats.

In our continued faithfulness to prayer and reflection we discern the ways God is leading us to meet these needs and the hunger of the people we encounter in our own missions. We still seek to fulfill the dream of Mother Angela to multiply herself a thousand times and travel all over the world to praise and adore God and bring His love to all people.

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