Some Old Acquaintances Will Never Be Forgotten

It's December 31, 2025 and I am typing these words in the library of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception Convent on Heading Avenue in West Peoria, Illinois. The year is ending, and not to put too fine a point on it, so in the not distant future is the convent. For the past few years, the Catholic sisters have been moving to (don't laugh) Lutheran Hillside Village in Peoria, a lovely retirement community with apartments, assisted living, and nursing home care. 

The reason for this move is that the convent at over 55,000 square feet, situated on five acres, is too large for the 20 some remaining sisters. It won't surprise you to learn that over the past few decades, the number of sisters in the order has been declining, as it has for Catholic orders across the United States. Religious life, especially for women, is not a common choice anymore. I won't go into the reasons for decline in this post, but want to acknowledge how sad it is for those of us who love the sisters, or even those who are merely aware of their presence, to know that the order will be coming to an end. As the Sisters transition to the Lutheran facility, they have put up their convent for sale.

My family is one of those who have had a long and loving relationship with the Sisters. In 1957, my husband John attended preschool at the Convent. His teacher was the beloved Sister Mary Elaine. 

Fifty years later, our son Luke attended preschool at the convent taught by, believe it or not, Sister Mary Elaine! 

In between those years, John and his brother served Mass at the Convent, visited their grandmother and uncle at St. Joseph's Home, a residence for older people that the sisters ran, and in general counted the Sisters as some of their best friends. For years, my mother-in-law Mary would talk daily with Sister Rita, often a 30 second check in call after supper. In 2010, we held Mary's funeral at the convent. For more than 15 years, I volunteered as a portress at the convent, greeting visitors and answering the phone. Our Haitian friend Jesula lived at the convent for 11 years. We attended many Masses and receptions at the Convent, including when they would introduce their annual Christmas ornament based on the cards designed by Rolan Johnson.

While the Sisters' friends and neighbors are sad about the eventually closing of the convent, the Sisters themselves are handling the situation with grace and equanimity. They are living in community as much as they can at Lutheran. Since they have moved there, a space has been dedicated as a chapel for their and the other residents' use. They continue many of their ministries such as hospital and hospice ministry massage therapy, spiritual direction, retreat and prayer ministry,  Of course, they have company as hundreds of orders in the United States and around the world are in a similar downsizing situation. A term these orders have come to use regarding their closing is completion. They have completed or are in the process of completing the work that God set out for them. All good things end or transform.

Along these lines, a few years ago I chatted with a visiting sister who was giving a talk on the topic of convents closing. She told me that every 500 years the Catholic Church goes through a transformation or upheaval and religious orders closing are part of the Vatican 2 change that we are currently going through. Something has to die in order for something else to be born. 

So while it may be inevitable, the closing of the convent and the ending of the order that has done so much for so many is--there's that word again--sad. But we trust that the work of the Sisters will be carried on in other ways. A new year and a new chapter are coming.