What drives us as School Sisters of St. Francis is this statement in our Constitutions (Rule of Life):

"Our mission is to witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ and the presence of the reign of God as we enter into the lives and needs of people, especially the poor."

Our mission is clearly focused on reaching out, on our ministry with others, but the way that we nurture that outreach is through our prayer and community life.

Personal prayer, shared prayer in our living groups or in our area communities, and praying together as a community in special celebrations or in moments of need are all ways in which we nourish our vocation. Whenever our foundresses found themselves in need in their new life with their fledgling community, they would instruct the sisters to "go to the chapel and pray." We continue this tradition today, as we celebrate jubilees, new members, the life of one of our sisters, or as we pray for peace, for guidance, and for those in need.

Our community life, too, is nurtured through sharing. Whether we live in groups of two or three, 10 or 50, each of us belongs to a larger group we call an area community. This is our primary way of organizing, sharing our needs and gaining support, and the way in which we participate in community governance.

While ministry, prayer, and local community fill our day-to-day lives, we are also aware that we are members of an international community. We share moments of prayer for significant events of our sisters in Europe, Latin America, and India, as well as share experiences when sisters from other provinces visit here in the United States. Every four years some of us participate in the International Community Experience (ICE) and every six years we hold a General Assembly where representatives from the entire community come together.

Wherever we are and whatever we do, we strive to witness to the Good News of Jesus.