DEFINITION

To be holy, by living the total gift

of ourselves in love,

in fraternity, following Christ

in the exercise of spiritual and educational motherhood.

This charism, received from our Founder, the Venerable Father Angelico Lipani, is a gift placed at the service of the life and growth of the Church. It is recognised as a gift from God through a long and detailed process by which the Church, with its authority, examines, acknowledges, approves, legitimises, authenticates, and embraces it. It is expressed in three main dimensions:

HOLINESS

On his deathbed, Father Angelico entrusted his spiritual testament to the sisters: “Become saints, as I wish to be holy.” He understood holiness as the Word of God incarnated in history.

Because of this, we commit ourselves to live according to the perfection of the Holy Gospel, in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made the Crucified Christ the inspiration and centre of his life with God and with others.
We strive to remain faithful to the ideals of holiness and apostolic fervour of our Founder, the Venerable Father Angelico Lipani, and to the genuine tradition of our Congregation.

SPIRITUAL MOTHERHOOD

This deep inspiration, born of intimate relationship with God, is expressed in trust in the Divine Fatherhood and Motherhood. A Franciscan Sister of the Lord is called to embody the following virtues:

Fraternity: Our first commitment and vocation is to become lesser sisters, in the style of Jesus, who did not cling to His status as Son, but became the brother of all, excluding no one. Fraternal relationships offer us a space for human and spiritual growth, where we learn to live, contemplate, study, reflect, discern, and decide together, in fraternity.

Simplicity and humility of life: In humility and simplicity, we open ourselves to encounter and sincere dialogue with all. We pray for one another every day.

Spirit of prayer: We cultivate, with faithful commitment, the spirit of prayer and contemplation, drawing from the genuine sources of Christian spirituality.

EDUCATIONAL MOTHERHOOD

Our mission is expressed in welcoming, supporting, and educating children and young people, especially the poor, the marginalised, or those at risk. Attentive to the Lord’s call, the sisters also devote themselves to charitable works, hospitals, and homes for the elderly. In the missions, the sisters employ every means to witness to the liberating power of the Gospel. Some key components of educational motherhood:

Patient charity: Nothing helps maintain and nurture healthy emotional balance more than the fraternal atmosphere of community life. Therefore, all sisters are encouraged to cultivate true fraternal charity among themselves with great care.

Love of work: As true poor, we feel called to embrace the common law of work to provide for our own needs and those of our apostolates, free from excessive worry and trusting in the providence of our Heavenly Father.

Loving dedication to children, young people, and the elderly: The many ministries to which we are dedicated must never distract us from our single, true goal: to bring souls to Christ.