FRANCISCAN HANDMAID OF THE MOST PURE HEART OF MARY

Franciscan Handmaid of the Most Pure Heart of Mary –  Sister Mary Augustine, F.H.M.                                                      ” Spes Populi Nostri Deo”  –  “Our Hope is in God”                                                                                                 “Impelled by the love of Jesus”

Founders:  Mother Theodore Williams  (Elizabeth Williams)                                                                                   Reverend Ignatius Lissner, S.M.A.

Place:  Savannah, Georgia originally; Haarlem, New York presently

Year:  1916 A.D.

Her Charism:  As a member of one of the three African-American Orders of the Church, this Sister is a bridge-builder and an instrument of peace, following in the footsteps of            Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi.  Her primary mission is to bridge societal needs and ethnic gaps through education of poor African-American children and their parents who are striving to overcome prejudice and poverty.  Due to changing circumstances, this Sister’s locale is now in Haarlem, New York where she continues to serve all God’s people.  Her guiding light is St. Francis de Sales, the “Doctor of Divine Love.”  The pattern of her vocation is to be found in the constant pursuit of growth in Love which is founded in Truth.  The Heart of Mary takes this Sister along the luminous road that leads to the Heart of her Divine Son to which she desires to conform herself.