Sister Mary Coffelt, Provincial Superior, recently spent time visiting the Sisters in the Mid-West ministries:
- Franziska Residence and Leonora Hall in Akron, Ohio. Here the Sisters’ ministry serves elderly men and women and provides a safe home for women with special needs.
- Briarbank in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Here the Sisters oversee an assisted living facility for women.
- Corpus Cristi Parish in South Bend, Indiana where the Sisters assist in the elementary school and serve the parish community throughout the weekends.
According to the Constitution of the Congregation, the Provincial Superior is mandated to visit every convent each year. During this visitation as the trip is called, Sister Mary speaks to each Sister individually. This provides the Sisters an opportunity to express directly to the Provincial how she feels about where she is living, the services she is providing to God’s people, her hopes for the future and anything else she wishes to share. Simultaneously, Sister Mary can explain her vision for her Sisters individually and how each Sister contributes to the mission.
While first and foremost, Sister Mary’s responsibility is for the welfare of her Sisters in all the convents, visitation provides the Provincial time to assess the mission itself. Time is taken to evaluate the infrastructure of the building, the administration of the ministry, services provided to the community, financial feasibility of the mission and convent, and so on.
With an aged population of Sisters, one of the most important aspects of the Provincial’s visitation is to assess the needs of the mission. This allows her to create a strategic plan for the future of the Province, convents, ministries and so on.
The Sisters and all their supporters look forward to the next steps Sister Mary and the Council will determine to be necessary in the coming months.