By: Maureen Clare Hall, OSF

   Recently, the Franciscan Sponsorship Council conducted its annual workshops for the teachers at the schools owned and operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany.  The workshops are designed to motivate and inspire the teachers at the beginning of each academic year. 

   Approximately 200 teachers were in attendance at the workshops which were held in Kingston, Jamaica, on August 21, 2015, for the lecturers at St Joseph's Teachers' College, and September 1 to 5, 2015, for teachers at Immaculate Conception Preparatory and High Schools, St Joseph's Infant School, St Aloysius Primary School, Alvernia Preparatory School and St Francis Primary and Infant School.

   This year's workshop theme was "Teachers Steadfast in God's Love and Service".  It examined their roles as educators in Franciscan schools, the challenges faced in their lives both personally and professionally, and how to overcome these challenges through affirmation of each other and prayer. God's steadfast love was illustrated through the Max Lucano story called "The Boy and the Ocean"; the fundamental principles which should govern life were presented through the song by 4HIM called "The Basics of Life"; and the rewards for overcoming obstacles was discussed after the story of the "Stone in the Road'.

   The three-hour workshops were presented by Dr Anna Perkins, Mrs Christine Rodriguez, Sr. Teresita DeSouza, and Sr. Maureen Clare Hall, along with other Sponsorship Council members, Sr; Helen Rose Yee Sang, Sr. Trinita Solnek, and Mrs. Ingrid Clarke. Associate Donna Haynes worked on the PowerPoint.

   Earlier this month, we discussed the fascinating history of St. Clare's Hospital in Manhattan, NY. In this edition, by request, we're featuring a pair of hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island: St. Joseph's and Our Lady of Fatima.
   In the early 20th century, the sisters ran several homes for working girls in Providence, with great success. At the same time, another congregation of Franciscan sisters ran a hospital and a sanitorium for tuberculosis patients called St. Joseph's. In 1937, when that congregation withdrew from the facility, the Allegany Franciscans undertook its management. In the 1950s, the sisters also took on the management of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, eventually running the two hospitals as a merged system. The Allegany Franciscans remained at the hospitals until June 1975.
   Pictured here are nurses and sisters nurses hard at work in the Central Dressing Room at St. Joseph's Hospital.
   Don't Forget: This Thursday, Oct. 1st, at 9:45 AM, the monthly Archives Seminar will be held in the Media Room at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse. This month's topic is the sisters' ministry in Bolivia. All are welcome! If you live outside the Motherhouse and are interested in attending, please email archives@fsallegany.org for more information.