Bernardine Franciscan Sisters celebrating 125th anniversary in Shenandoah
SHENANDOAH – The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters are celebrating their quasquicentennial in Shenandoah and their 130th anniversary stateside this year.
The religious group, led by Mother Veronica Grzedowska and three companions, came to the United States from Poland in 1894 “to respond to the educational needs of children of immigrant coal miners in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Five years after their arrival stateside, they came to Shenandoah to minister at St. Casimir Parish and St. Stanislaus Parish, according to a bulletin issued by Divine Mercy Parish.
In the years since, they taught students in both parish schools and in the Father Walter Ciszek Elementary School.
“The sisters also visited the sick, took care of the Sanctuary of the Churches and assisted the pastors in the care of the people,” the bulletin said. “While all this was being done, over 100 girls and young women went to the Bernardine Sisters Mother House in Reading to consider a vocation to this dynamic and vibrant religious community.”
“We, the people of Shenandoah, continue to be blessed with the presence of the Bernardine Sisters as they minister to the needs of the people of Shenandoah and assist in the promotion of the cause of canonization for Fr. Walter Ciszek,” the bulletin continues.
Divine Mercy formed when St. Casimir and St. Stanislaus, along with every other Roman Catholic parish in the Shenandoah Valley, merged.
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