Hospital Sisters install Provincial Council, to serve through 2011

The Provincial Council of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis was installed at a Eucharistic Liturgy Sunday, April 15, in St. Francis of Assisi Church on the Motherhouse campus in Springfield .

The Community of Sisters welcomed their 2007-2011 Leadership: Sister Jomary Trstensky as Provincial Superior, Sister Maureen O'Connor as Provincial Vicaress and Sisters MaryAnn Falbe and Christa Ann Struewing as Provincial Councilors.

The Hospital Sisters sponsor St. Joseph's Hospital in Breese; Sister Christa Ann previously served on the hospital's Board of Directors.

The Provincial Superior represents the Community, its establishments and the interests of the Sisters and is responsible for directing the Community in spiritual life and in their ministries. The Provincial Vicaress assists the Provincial Superior and assumes her responsibilities in her absence.

The Superior, Vicaress and Councilors form the leadership team that directs Province business. The Provincial and her Council also serve as Members of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach and have Reserved Powers pertaining to the philosophy and mission of these organizations.

Sister Jomary and Sister Maureen are natives of Springfield , graduates of St. John's School of Nursing and hold bachelor's degrees in nursing from Marillac College in St. Louis.

Sister Jomary, who made her First Profession with the Community in 1960, also has master's degrees in nursing from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and in health administration from Ohio State University. She served as HSHS President and CEO from 1988 to 2006, previously worked as a registered nurse at the Sisters' hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin and was on the Provincial Council. 

Sister Maureen, who made her First Profession in 1968, also has master's degrees in nursing from the University of Colorado and in business administration from the University of Illinois . She has served as the Provincial Secretary/Treasurer since 1988 and previously was a registered nurse at the Sisters' hospitals.

A Provincial Councilor since 2003, Sister MaryAnn is a native of Belleville and a graduate of St. Teresa Grade School and Notre Dame Academy. She holds two nursing degrees: a bachelor's from Marillac and a master's from the University of Wisconsin

Sister Mary Ann previously was a registered nurse at the Sisters' hospitals and the Director of Catholic Community Services at the Archdiocese of St. Louis. She made her First Profession in 1965.

A native of Carthage, Mo., Sister Christa Ann holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from Marillac and previously worked as the Community Life leader for Sisters residing away from St. Francis Convent.

A prior member of the Provincial Council, Sister Christa Ann previously served as leadership at HSHS, and as a registered nurse in the Sister's hospitals. She made her First Profession in 1964.

The Hospital Sisters are an international, multi-cultural congregation of Franciscan Sisters founded in Germany in 1844. The American Province, based in Springfield, was founded in 1875 when Sisters from Germany arrived and began their work in Alton, Belleville, East St. Louis, Effingham, Litchfield and Springfield.

The American Province continues its ministry as a provider of Catholic healthcare with 13 Illinois and Wisconsin hospitals and missionary work in Haiti and Tanzania. For more inform ation, visit www.franciscansatspfld.org .