A Declaration of Commitment

As our country celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this summer, we look back across nearly 113 years of service to God’s people in the United States. Today, we continue the mission of our Pioneer Sisters (pictured), who settled here in 1913, first to teach the children of Eastern European immigrants, and then, more broadly, to minister to the needs of our neighbors.

Upon this milestone anniversary for the U.S., we join our colleagues in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious — as well as communities of women religious nationwide — in sharing our Declaration of Commitment to be women of God living amid the profound challenges of our world, fearless in embracing and embodying the priorities of the Gospel.

We Affirm Our Commitment To:

  • Upholding the inherent right to life of every human being and the dignity of each person

  • Embracing the gospel call to love, welcome, and care for all people, especially those who are most vulnerable

  • Welcoming immigrants and providing care and assistance to all who reside in our nation, while advocating for comprehensive immigration reform

  • Standing against violence in all its forms

  • Dismantling racism in all its manifestations

  • Caring for our common home, Earth, through attentive stewardship and decisive action

  • Respecting and supporting every person's journey toward the fullness of their humanity

  • Working to alleviate poverty in all its forms

  • Exercising the responsibility to vote and advocating for the protection of this opportunity for others

  • Promoting dialogue, negotiation, and mutual understanding as the path to lasting peace, rather than the use of force and the destruction of life

As Bearers of Hope, We:

  • Commit ourselves to living compassion, communion, and nonviolence as members of one global community. 

  • Remain steadfast in our belief in the inherent right to life of every human being and the dignity of each person. 

  • Proclaim the urgent necessity of nonviolence in both word and action. 

  • Embrace our responsibility to make choices that support the good of all life on this planet.

  • Pledge to live our call to be courageous witnesses of love — refusing to surrender our moral authority or succumb to despair.

Ours Prayers for the Nation We Love

S. FRANCES MARIE DUNCAN

“On this, the 250th birthday of the USA, I am thankful to those who founded our country to embrace the core values of liberty, equality, democracy, religious freedom, hope for a better life, and the pursuit of happiness. My hope and prayer is that we can move past our present hostility into an acceptance of the other, and that we may once again work together to reinstate these values for which we were founded. I pray that the words on the monument of Lady Liberty will once again ring true.”

S. GEORGETTE DUBLINO

“I can only try to express my love for our fragile country that God has so profoundly blessed: On this, your 250th birthday, may God forever bless you, dear America, because you were born to be a land for freedom of worship, and where all are welcome and free to pursue a life of happiness and peace.”

S. ROSELYN KUZMA

“My best prayer that I say or sing every day is always, ‘God bless America.’ And now I add, ‘God bless everyone.’ I have been doing genealogy for the last 30-some years, and so, I thank God for all my ancestors who helped us in so many ways. I also include all of our Sisters who came from Europe.”

S. NANCY CELASCHI

“On July 4, 1976, I arrived in Assisi, Italy, for the very first time. On July 3, 2026, I returned to the USA from a month in Italy with Franciscan friars preparing to make their solemn (perpetual) profession. I returned with my heart filled with love for my Franciscan calling, prayers for the Franciscan family, and — most especially — gratitude for 250 years of our Republic, with a heartfelt prayer that we may continue in our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness with respect for the Constitution and the dignity of every creature.”

“All the nations you have made shall come to bow before you,
Lord, and give honor to your name. For you are great and
do wondrous deeds; and you alone are God.”
— Psalm 86: 9-10

Cross Holds Connection 
to U.S. Milestone in 1976

The last time our country marked such a milestone was at the Bicentennial in 1976. That August, many of our Sisters attended the 41st Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia, Pa.

Among them was Sister Luceta Macik, who had the honor of carrying a Tau cross in the offertory procession during a Mass with future saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla before he became Pope John Paul II and, later, a saint.

A former General Superior of our congregation, Sister Luceta passed in 2001, but that very same cross (pictured) remains part of our daily worship, adorning the altar in Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel at Monocacy Manor in Bethlehem, Pa.