Tiffin Franciscans mark anniversaries |
 |
 |
|
Written by .
|
|
Saturday, 20 June 2009 01:00 |
TIFFIN—On June 20, the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin mark the 140th anniversary of their founding and the 40th anniversary of their ministry in Chiapas, Mexico.
In 1869, Father Joseph Bihn, pastor of Tiffin St. Joseph, saw the need to attend to the orphaned and widowed after the Civil War. He invited a Tiffin widow, Elizabeth Schaefer, to assist him. This was the first step in the foundation of this congregation headquartered on the corner of St. Francis Avenue and Melmore Street.
From that section of the city many sisters have traveled the path to where God called them to minister to the poor and needy, especially the widowed and orphaned. For years everyone able to do so and who lived in the buildings still found today on that site took part in the farm work needed for sustenance for the group.
Gradually the activities of the sisters broadened, moving them elsewhere in various occupations including teaching in small towns and cities of northern Ohio and elsewhere, nursing in hospitals in Ohio, North Dakota and Kentucky, caring for the orphans at St. Anthony Orphanage in Toledo, assisting in various ways in parishes and serving in Appalachia and other parts of the United States, and Chiapas, Mexico.
A major ministry of the sisters is still located on St. Francis Avenue in Tiffin, currently referred to as the St. Francis Senior Ministries, which includes a nursing home.
The book “Little Less Than the Angels … Psalm 8” gives a glimpse of the 40 years in Chiapas, Mexico. In it, the reader finds a variety of experiences the sisters have known with the people of that state. The book, assembled by Tiffin Franciscan Sister Annette Langenderfer, is to be available after June 22, at Reger’s Religious Articles in Toledo, Spirit Space in Tiffin and from Sr. Langenderfer at alangenderfer@hotmail.com.
|
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 19:01 |
