Sponsored by the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, St. Joseph’s in Breese is one of 13 Illinois and Wisconsin hospitals affiliated with the Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS).
Founded in 1918 and demonstrating a long history of community support, St. Joseph’s in Breese became an HSHS affiliate in 1987 after 60-plus years of sponsorship by the Holy Cross Sisters of Merrill, Wisconsin.
The Hospital Sisters, now an international order was founded in 1844 in Telget Westphalia, Germany, when Franciscan priest, Father Christopher Bernsmeyer, OFM, sought the assistance of five German women to minister to the sick and poor.
The Hospital Sisters’ American Province began in 1875 when 20 Sisters came to America from Germany. Eventually, as their numbers and facilities multiplied, the Sisters founded the Hospital Sisters Health System to unify their hospitals. HSHS is on the same campus in Springfield as the Sisters’ Motherhouse.
The Sisters offer an online prayer request.
For those who want to share more fully in the Sisters’ mission, philosophy, life and prayer, there is a Lay Associates program.
Established in 1987 as a relationship between the Sisters and those who relate through their Franciscan charism, the program continues as a means for individual growth in the Franciscan mission along with connecting the Sisters with the communities they serve.
The program is open to Christian women and men, Catholic or Protestant, who may be--but are not required to be—employees of St. Joseph’s in Breese or other HSHS facility. There is no financial or legal responsibility between associates and the Franciscan community; the relationship is one of mutual spiritual support.
Although not taking vows, associates are committed to relationship through personal spiritual goals. They commit themselves to the Sisters’ life, prayer and mission for the purpose of deepening their baptismal commitment, fostering their call to holiness and witnessing gospel values in the spirit of St. Francis.
For information on the Lay Associate program, contact Ruth Ellen Davis, Associate Coordinator, at 217.522-3387, Ext. 664, or rdavis@hsosf-usa.org.
In addition to St. Joseph’s, Breese, other HSHS hospitals include:
Illinois
St. Elizabeth's, Belleville
St. Mary's, Decatur
St. Anthony's Memorial, Effingham
St. Joseph's, Highland
St. Francis, Litchfield
St. John's, Springfield
St. Mary's, Streator
Wisconsin
St. Joseph's, Chippewa Falls
Sacred Heart, Eau Claire
St. Mary's Medical Center, Green Bay
St. Vincent, Green Bay
St. Nicholas, Sheboygan
