Viceprovince of the Immaculate Conception, USA
1961  Four Sisters from Italy were sent to serve at the Conventual Friars’ novitiate in Ellicott City, Maryland to begin new “small gatherings” in the United States.  A second group was sent to Saint Hyacinth Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts the following year.

1971  Mother General Sr. Amalia Manenti visited the Sisters.  Recognizing the difficulties caused by the distance between the communities, she appointed Sister Norbert Petrucci as coordinator between the Motherhouse in Assisi and the communities in Ellicott City and Granby.  Sister Norbert had been among the original Sisters who came to establish a presence in the USA.

1975  With the help of a generous loan from the Conventual Friars of the Province of St. Anthony of Padua, they acquired their first house of their own, in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  The Sisters imagined the convent’s becoming their local Motherhouse and Formation House.  

1982  Mother General Sr. Enrica Dandolo sent Sister Massimiliana Zugno to the USA to coordinate initial formation.  The Sisters decided to have an addition built onto the Holyoke convent to accommodate novices.  

1989  The Sisters left Granby.  Since their communities’ beginnings in the 1960s, their hopes for ministry became more directed toward Catholic parish life in the American towns where they lived.

1994  The Sisters left Saint Joseph Cupertino Friary and Convent in Ellicott City.  Mother Angela Convent was opened in Chicopee, Massachusetts for Sisters who were working at Saint Stanislaus Basilica Parish.  A presence in Staten Island, New York soon followed through 1996.

1995  Saint Francis Convent became a home for three Sisters from Japan, Korea, and Zambia while they prepared for missionary work in the Philippines.  Part of the Sisters’ house in Holyoke was opened as a House of Prayer.  It accommodates small groups and individuals for spiritual retreats.  

1997  A group of Sisters moved to establish a presence in Niagara Falls, New York, where they remained for five years.

1999  Assisi Convent was opened in the Bronx.  

2007  Our fellowship is truly multicultural and multiethnic: all Franciscans, living together in faith and fraternal love.
Saint%20Francis%20Convent.htmlMother%20Angela%20Convent.htmlHouse%20of%20Prayer.htmlAssisi%20Convent.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3
Our History in the States
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi
      (Suore Francescane Missionarie di Assisi - SFMA)
Home 

 Then...

Our Founders

Story of the Arch

Spiritual Roots 

Seeds of Fraternity

Missionary Branches

Now...

History in the States

Membership

Newsletter

Communities

House of Prayer

Assisi

Links

Contact UsHome.htmlFounder%20and%20Foundress.htmlStory%20of%20Arch.htmlSpiritual%20Roots.htmlSeeds%20of%20Fraternity.htmlMissionary%20Branches.htmlMembership.htmlNewsletter.htmlCommunities.htmlHouse%20of%20Prayer.htmlAssisi.htmlLinks.htmlContact%20Us.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2shapeimage_5_link_3shapeimage_5_link_4shapeimage_5_link_5shapeimage_5_link_6shapeimage_5_link_7shapeimage_5_link_8shapeimage_5_link_9shapeimage_5_link_10shapeimage_5_link_11shapeimage_5_link_12shapeimage_5_link_13