You’ve taken the first step in supporting Care of Our Retired Sisters, so please keep Movin’ 4 Missions by inviting your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to sponsor your efforts! This financial support will assist us in caring for these wonderful women of wisdom.
Since 1874, the School Sisters of St. Francis have shown the world how to come together and work for the common good – a mindset that is needed at this time of increasing economic and racial disparity, political polarization, and conflict. The sisters have spent their lives as consecrated women leading by example through selfless giving and efforts to improve the lives of others. As they enter their retirement years, the School Sisters of St. Francis have made it a priority to provide them with loving, dignified care.
Our International Retirement Fund meets the needs of 460 retired School Sisters of St. Francis. Medical care, housing, memory care and transportation are all provided for the retired sisters, who have served so many people over their lifetime. The Retirement Fund is 47 percent unfunded, so the need to support our sisters is great. The cost of care is $23,000 per sister, per year. The national average for support of a retired sister is $41,000.
While religious congregations strive to care for their elderly and infirm members, their needs are critical. At the end of 2013, 68 percent of all religious in the United States were 70 or older. In just three years, 75 percent of all religious will be 75 or older. Currently, the median age of our U.S. sisters is 83.
Whether it is in Europe, Latin America, India, or the United States, caring for our sisters is a labor of love. We strive to offer a holistic model of care that meets their physical, intellectual, and spiritual needs in a caring and prayerful community environment. These requirements include housing and living expenses, medication, special adaptive items such as medical beds, and a wander management system to protect sisters with dementia.
Our retired sisters’ most precious gift to our world is their gift of prayer and presence. As they pray for the needs of our world, they are offering their way of life as a witness to the School Sisters of St. Francis’ mission. They have inspired us for nearly 150 years with their life-changing work and for generations have been there for others. Now it is our turn to help secure their future through our caring support.