Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville
Encyclopedia
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...
, which followed the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
. Their ministry was primarily one of medical care, to which end they founded hospitals in Missouri and Oklahoma.
The congregation was founded in 1894 when Mother Mary Augustine Giesen
Mary Augustine Giesen
Mary Augustine Giesen , founded the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville which founded and operated St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, Missouri....
led six other sisters to Maryville from the St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
motherhouse
Motherhouse
The term motherhouse is used by religious Orders and religious congregations to designate the principal house or community for that group. It can be either for the entire institute or for a region....
of the Sisters of St. Mary
Sisters of St. Mary
The Sisters of St. Mary was a former Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest...
. They then became independent of that congregation, with Mother Augustine as the first Superior General
Superior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
.
They founded St. Francis Hospital, the only hospital in the town and one of only two hospitals in the vast Platte Purchase
Platte Purchase
The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from Native American tribes all of which was east bank lands along the Missouri River that added to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. The area acquired is almost as large as the states of Delaware and...
area of northwest Missouri north of St. Joseph, Missouri (the other hospital is in Fairfax, Missouri
Fairfax, Missouri
Fairfax is a city in Clark Township, Atchison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 638 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Fairfax is located at ....
).
In 1947, the order built its motherhouse, with its landmark yellow steeple, on a bluff overlooking the One Hundred and Two River
One Hundred and Two River
The One Hundred and Two River is a tributary of the Platte River of Missouri that is approximately long, in northwestern Missouri in the United States, with its source tributaries rising in southwestern Iowa....
. In 1963 they opened the Mount Alverno Academy for high school girls on land adjacent to the motherhouse. The high school closed in 1971.
In 1985 the congregation merged back with its parent congregation of the Sisters of St. Mary
Sisters of St. Mary
The Sisters of St. Mary was a former Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest...
to form the Franciscan Sisters of Mary
Franciscan Sisters of Mary
The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest....
. The headquarters was moved to St. Louis.
Concerned Maryville residents seeking to preserve the landmark motherhouse tower sought various uses for it. In 1995 the Missouri Department of Corrections bought the 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) grounds with the motherhouse and school for the minimum security Maryville Treatment Center
Maryville Treatment Center
Maryville Treatment Center is a Missouri Department of Corrections minimum security prison for male inmates on the grounds of the former Mount Alverno motherhouse of the Sisters of St...
which began operations in 1996.
The congregation's hospitals now are operated as the SSM Health Care
SSM Health Care
SSM Health Care is a Catholic, not-for-profit health care system with an international reputation as a pioneer in the use of quality measures to improve care. With 5,400 physicians and 22,000 employees in four states, SSM is one of the largest employers in every community it serves. It is located...
Institute.