• Music therapy
• Visual arts – workshops, classes, galleries
• Counseling services
• Land opportunities
• Volunteer opportunities
• Spiritual integration
• Giving opportunities
• Meeting and rental spaces

The Franciscan Sisters moved to Grand Rapids in 1971. On June 12, 1972, the Sisters established themselves in a rural area north of Lowell. This was made possible through a generous donation of land and a home by Mr. Peter M. Wege, who remained a friend and supporter of the Sisters until his death in 2014.

Taking time to learn about the needs of the people in West Michigan, the Sisters began their first professional service in January 1975 by establishing the Franciscan Life Process Preschool Program. In 1978 and 1979, both the Music Education and Music Therapy programs were launched in the nearby town of Ada under the title of Franciscan Rhythms. Soon to follow in 1980, Franciscan Heritage Foods, a bakery and coffee shop, was opened next door.

The growth was great. The Sisters decided to raise funds and apply for grants to construct the current Franciscan Life Process Center building on the Lowell farm in order to expand their services. Construction was completed and the center opened in September of 1991. The services in Ada were eventually closed. While serving people through professional positions within West Michigan and those located on the land, the services of the center grew to the point that required a city campus in addition to the rural location. The Sisters opened a campus in Grand Rapids in September of 2010. The Grand Rapids campus is located on the third floor of the Basilica Center, attached to the parish of the Basilica of St. Adalbert, 5th Street and Davis Street NW.

The Sisters’ approach to their mission has remained constant throughout the years as the services have changed and grown. Basic to their mission is a belief in the sacredness of all life and therefore in the inherent value of each individual human life. Staff members, too, acknowledge in each person a fundamental desire and potential for personal growth and accept the development of each person as a unique organic process.  The services offered are designed to assist in the education, healthy development and cultural enrichment of individuals and communities of people throughout West Michigan.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, a Community of Religious Women, was founded in 1973 and is approved as a pontifical order by the Roman Catholic Church. Guided by the leadership of its foundresses, Mother Rosemae Pender and Mother Shaun Vergauwen, the community has flourished since its beginnings and now has 12 centers in the United States, Italy, the Holy Land and Canada. The motherhouse is in Meriden, Connecticut.

The Sisters value and promote the dignity of the human person, and cultivate a spirit of simplicity, a love for the elegance of beauty in natural forms, and a way of life that creates community.

Visit the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist website.