Little Sisters return to Saint Francis

Saint Francis Healthcare System saw the return of Franciscan Sisters to the organization a year ago, the first in residence since 2019.

According to its website, the Saint Francis Health Care System was founded in 1875 when Father Joseph Schmidt, pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Cape Girardeau, invited three Franciscan Sisters to follow the call to serve those in need and start a hospital in Cape Girardeau.

However, Gerry Salter, vice president of Surgical and Procedural Specialties, said the last Franciscan Sister from that order working at Saint Francis, Sister Jane Ann Kiefer, retired in 1998 though she continued to volunteer until 2019.

"It was not until August 2022 that Franciscan Sisters were present working once again at Saint Francis," Salter said. "This time from the order of the Little Sisters of St. Francis."

Founded in 1923, by Mother Mary Kevin Kearny from Ireland, the Little Sisters established hospitals and maternity centers, schools and orphanages and home care for disadvantaged children in Nkokonjeru, Uganda. Over the next 100 years, the ministry grew, and Foundation Houses were established in several African countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Now, five Little Sisters, four from Kenya and one from Uganda, have come to serve in Cape Girardeau.

Sister Evalyn Ekasa, serves as a counselor in the Psychology Department of Saint Francis. She said she grew up going to a school run by the Little Sisters and later decided to join the order because they frequently spoke of "Franciscan joy".

"They emulated that joy and a simplicity when working with students, and that attracted me," Ekasa said.

Simplicity was also what drew Sister Julian Oyoo to the Little Sisters. She serves as an accountant for Saint Francis and said her pastor gave her a book of different religious congregations where she read about Saint Francis of Assisi.

"What struck me about St. Francis was his simplicity," Oyoo said. "He left everything, he was from a rich family, and he was now serving the lepers. I said, 'This is the life I want. I want to live a simple life, a prayerful life.'"

Sister Margaret Sergon also serves in the Psychology Department and said it was the mission of the Little Sisters that attracted her. She said she was inspired by their service to the marginalized and wanted to devote her life to the service of the poor.

Sister Cecelia Akon works as a pastoral minister at Saint Francis and said she was also drawn to the mission of the Little Sisters, but also to how they dressed. She said they were "so nice" as they taught in her elementary school, and she thought, "If I would be like one of them."

Sister Ann Francis cares for people in Saint Francis Inpatient Rehabilitation Department. She said, as a child, she enjoyed helping a group of Franciscan Brothers serve the poor in her village. She said she told them she admired their way of life, and they introduced her to the Little Sisters.

Ekasa, Oyoo, Sergon and Francis are from Kenya, and Akon is from Uganda.

All the Sisters said their time in the U.S. has been exciting and challenging. They said while they have enjoyed meeting so many diverse people and experiencing new cultures, it is a challenge being away from home and having to adapt to different ways of doing things.

Yet, Sergon said she is also "finding a home away from home."

"The people here have been very kind and supportive to me, and Saint Francis has been exceptionally welcoming," she said. "It's an honor that we are here to be able to provide service as much as we can."

Before coming to the U.S., Ekasa said, she heard a "myth" that in America people don't pray and if she went there, she would be lost. However, she said she discovered the Adoration Chapel at Saint Francis, which is staffed 24/7 to provide Perpetual Adoration. She said this helped "demystify that kind of thinking."

"That has really helped me to strengthen my faith," she said. "I can use that to explain to people at home that the notion they heard about Americans not being prayerful is completely wrong. This has helped me to have a very beautiful picture about the U.S. people and their faith."

Salter said having vowed religious Franciscan Sisters working within a Catholic hospital is important because it helps to maintain the Catholic identity of the hospital and its mission.

"The Sisters are able to provide spiritual care and guidance to patients and their families, as well as to staff members," Salter said. "They also help to ensure that Saint Francis remains true to its Franciscan values of compassion, respect for life and concern for the poor and vulnerable."