•   OUR SWISS ROOTS

   

  During the latter part of the 12th century, Europe experienced the widespread devleopment of small penitential groups called Beguines. These women, primarily virgins and widows, joined together in community to lead lives of deeper piety. They dedicated themselves to prayer and other religious exercises and engaged in apostolic works. They earned their livelihood by sewing, weaving, teaching, nursing and other similiar works. These groups of women did not profess religious vows and had no official status within the Church. 
   

  

  
  As early as 1258, a group of these Beguines was known to live near the parish Church in Alstatten, Switzerland. In 1522, this group of Beguines accepted the Rule of Saint Francis and officially became a Franciscan religious community. Our Saint Francis Mission Community is a branch of this Franciscan Congregation. 

   

  

  
  
  OUR FOUNDING IN COLOMBIA
  
  In 1888, in response to the needs of the Church in South America, a group of Swiss sisters, including Mother Caritas Brader, left their Swiss Convent of  Mary, Help of Christians in Alstatten for the missions of Ecuador. Inspired by the needs of the Church there and by her motto. "All for the love of God and as He wills it," Mother Caritas founded the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate in Tuquerres, Colombia in 1893. 

  In her apostolic activity, Mother Caritas took care to combine contemplation and action. She encouraged the sisters to acquire effective academic qualifications, but without permitting the spirit of holy prayer and devotion to be extinguished. Mother Caritas would always tell the sisters "Do not forget that the better educated, the greater the skills the educator possesses, the more she will be able to do for our holy religion and the glory of God, especially when virture is the vanguard of her knowledge. The more intense and visible her external activity, the deeper and more fervent her interior life must be." 
   

  

  
  Her great love for Jesus in the Eucharist promoted her to ask and obtain permission for Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the convent. During adoration, Mother Caritas received light and strength for the apostolate. She taught the sisters to "see God's will in everything and to do His will with joy and out of love for Him." 
  
  
  DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
  
  The first establishment of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate was made in Amarillo, Texas on August 15, 1932. In 1981, a group of these sisters was authorized by Rome to branch out and form the Saint Francis Mission Community. 
  
  In October of 2001, the first phase of our new motherhouse, Our Lady of the Angels Convent was completed in Lubbock, TX. Then, on November 9, 2001, three sisters and two novices arrived at Our Lady of the Angels Convent and established the first community.