Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross

The Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross are a diocesan community of religious women who live according to the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi in Northeastern Wisconsin. In essence, the Sisters practice "simplicity, hospitality and prayer that is centered on the Cross of Jesus Christ, the sacred Word of Scripture and the Holy Eucharist."
This Catholic community of women was founded in 1868 by Father Edward Daems ( - 1879) who came to northeastern Wisconsin to minister to the local Belgian immigrants. Seeing the need for teachers, Father Daems asked two local women -- Pauline LaPlante ( - 1926) and Christine Rousseau ( - 1900) -- to come home from their formation with the Dominican Order in Racine, Wisconsin, (about 150 miles south), to teach and provide medical care to the Belgian residents. Sister LaPlante and Sister Rousseau accepted Father Daems' request. With the help of Sister Pius Doyle and Mary Van Lanen, a neighboring farm girl, the four women became the religious...