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History
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., the Sisters of the Third Franciscan Order of Syracuse, and the Sisters of St. Francis of the Third Order Regular of Buffalo ceased to exist as autonomous congregations and formed a new congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities on July 12, 2004 in Syracuse, N.Y. The Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale joined together with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities on August 26, 2007. Originally, all four congregations grew out of the same Philadelphia order that Sister Mary Francis Bachmann, Sister Mary Margaret Boll and Sister Bernadina Dorn founded under the guidance of St. John Neumann (then Bishop of Philadelphia) in 1855. Today throughout the U.S. and abroad, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities dedicate themselves to the care of the homeless, the poor, refugees, the young and the old, and those who need an advocate. In addition, the sisters are committed to establishing peace and justice and strive to care for the environment.
Read more about the sister's early years on the sisters' main Web site.
Why are we called the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities?
The Sisters of St. Francis trace their founding to 1855 when St. John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, established one of the first American-founded Franciscan communities. Our foundresses: Anna Boll Bachman, a widow and mother of four children, her sister, Barbara Boll and a friend from Bavaria, Anna Dorn. Anna Boll Bachmann (Mother Mary Francis) became the leader of the community. As numbers increased, small groups of sisters were sent to Syracuse and Buffalo, and eventually five additional communities were formed, creating the Neumann-Bachmann Heritage communities. Mother Mary Margaret (Barbara Boll) was the major superior of the Buffalo community who sent two sisters to Pittsburgh in 1865. Mother M. Louis Bergem was elected the first Major Superior of the Pittsburgh Franciscans in 1871.