Why this order of Catholic sisters converted their Milwaukee convent into affordable apartments

Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For the School Sisters of St. Francis, each room of their cavernous, four-story convent on Milwaukee’s south side brings up memories.

One room used to be an art gallery. Another, a children’s daycare. A room with floor-to- ceiling shelves once served as a library for a precursor to Alverno College. A nearby outbuilding with a basketball court was where 85-year-old Sister Joann Riesterer used to take gym classes.

Now, developers have renovated the historic St. Joseph Convent into 63 affordable apartments for the public. There are four townhomes for families and 59 units for people ages 55 and up.

“We want to remain grounded in our neighborhood, and we want our properties to meet the needs of those who have needs,” said Sister Deborah Fumagalli, president of the international School Sisters of St. Francis congregation.

Since 1886, the School Sisters’ international headquarters has been based at its campus at South Layton Boulevard and West Greenfield Avenue. At the order’s peak in the 1950s, it was the largest congregation of Franciscan women in the world, Fumagalli said. But in recent years, faced with an aging — and dwindling — population in the U.S., the sisters took a hard look at their future.

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