A Franciscan Teaching Community for Tradition
Fr. Eugene N. Heidt, ordained in 1959 for the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, began working with the Society of Saint Pius X in 1988. Assigned as pastor to the SSPX chapels in Oregon, he quickly saw the need in tradition for a community of teaching Sisters who would send groups of Sisters to traditional Catholic schools. Father spent several years in prayer and in the study of Rules from various congregations, then with the advice and encouragement of Fr. Peter Scott, Fr. Heidt concluded that he would found a community of Franciscans, explaining, "What the Franciscans did once, they can do again!" Fr. Heidt believed that the simplicity of Franciscan spirituality combined with Franciscan zeal for souls would engender in the Sisters the same kind of love for Christ which animated St. Francis himself. He decided upon the 1927 Rule of the Third Order Regular, approved by Pope Pius XI.

In 1999, Fr. Heidt asked the three traditional chapels in Oregon to pray for a Franciscan Sister to help him in the daunting task of founding the new community. "I don't care if she comes rolling down the driveway in a wheelchair, as long as she knows how to pray!" Father knew that the prayer life provides the foundation for the active apostolate, and above all, the foundress must be a prayerful religious.

In 1997, Sr. Herlinda McCarty, O.S.F., left the Wheaton Franciscans in Illinois, because this community, once known as the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, had become so imbued with the spirit of Vatican II. When her superiors forbade her to attend the traditional Mass, she sought the help of the Society of Saint Pius X, and found refuge with the Society in Dickinson, Texas. When Fr. Heidt began his prayer campaign for a Franciscan Sister, Fr. Carl Pulvermacher [see story on pp. 2-10 of this issue–Ed.] put him in contact with Sr. Herlinda. At first, because of her advanced years (88 in 1999), she declined to help, but when Fr. Heidt told her that God writes straight with crooked lines, she agreed to come to Oregon. Having begun her religious life as a postulant in the 1920'™s, she had the needed background to assist Fr. Heidt, and his prayer request was fulfilled to the letter: this Sister who knew how to pray did indeed arrive in a wheelchair! She renewed her vows on February 2, 2000, and was joined by a postulant soon thereafter, thus beginning the Franciscan Sisters of Oregon. (The Community was renamed the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King two years later when the Mother House was established in Missouri.)

Rare Documents Provide Guidance
Over the centuries, there have been many different Franciscan Third Order Regular communities, each with its own prayer life and apostolate. The Third Order Regular Rule is quite brief; the details of the life each community leads are contained in their constitutions and book of customs. Sadly, Sr. Herlinda's former community had taken those documents away as they "updated," but Sisters from a conservative Franciscan community were willing to loan their documents from the archives. These pre-Vatican II documents, which are rarely available outside any community, gave the fledgling community the guidance needed to establish their own Constitutions and Book of Customs. The Constitutions were submitted to both Fr. Peter Scott (then District Superior of the SSPX in the U.S.) and also to His Excellency Bernard Fellay, General Superior of the Society.

In our community, candidates may spend up to six months in a pre-postulancy, and while this is often recommended, it is not required. The six-month postulancy begins in February. The postulants receive their habits, religious names, and begin their two-year novitiate in August. At the end of the novitiate, if accepted into vows, the novices take their first vows for one year. The annual vows are renewed twice, followed by vows of three years. This may be followed by another three years if necessary, for a total of six or nine years in temporary vows. Temporary vows are followed by final vows.
 
The Government and Location of the Community
After two years in Oregon under the government of Fr. Heidt and Rev. Mother Mary Herlinda, Fr. Heidt experienced a marked decline in health, and he decided to relocate the Community in order to secure for it the help of the Society of Saint Pius X. The Superiors decided to purchase an empty convent building in Kansas City. As Mother Herlinda's health also declined and her need for care increased, Sr. Mary Joseph was appointed by Fr. Heidt to be the Superior starting in 2003. She is advised by priests of the SSPX and also the Bishops of the Society.

A Symbolic Statement: the Traditional Habit
As Sisters, our habit expresses a very clear statement about our way of life, recognized by nearly everyone. A visual symbol of the traditional Catholic Faith, the wearing of the habit reminds us continually of our total self-donation to God, and reminds people in the world that there is a God! Mother Herlinda compared the silent sermons preached by the wearing of the habit to the silent sermon preached by St. Francis. He went out to preach one day with one of his friars. They walked through the town in their characteristic tunics, hands tucked into their sleeves, eyes lowered in prayer, but no word was said. "I thought you meant to preach today, Brother Francis," remarked the friar. "Our sermon was in our behavior," replied the saint.

Our Life of Prayer
Our way of life is that of the active-contemplative. It is the prayer life which gives us the spiritual strength to sustain the active life. Our prayer life is centered around the traditional Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, meditation, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Latin, as well as various community prayers in English, approximately four and a half hours a day in formal prayer. To fulfill certain duties, teaching for example, some of the Sisters are excused from certain times in the chapel.

Fr. Heidt was drawn to the Franciscan heritage by the close link between Franciscan devotions and the Catholic sense of things, and this because the Franciscans were so instrumental in the origins or the propagation of so many ordinary Catholic devotions. The Sacred Humanity of Our Lord in all Its manifestations–the Incarnation of Our Lord, His Nativity and His Holy Name, the Passion and Death of Our Lord, and most particularly His Kingship–are all Franciscan devotions, and yet simply Catholic. Devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Conception was always defended throughout history by the Franciscan Order, and devotion to St. Joseph, brought by the Franciscans from the Holy Land, was spread throughout the Western Church.
In St. Francis's day, devotion to the Holy Eucharist had dwindled somewhat. Many churches were neglected, the Blessed Sacrament left without attention. Before he became a friar, St. Francis provided fitting chalices and linens, and after he began his Order, his zeal for the Blessed Sacrament and his reverence for the priesthood revived Eucharistic devotion throughout Christendom. Even devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has a Franciscan connection: Our Lord gave St. Margaret Mary into the care of St. Francis of Assisi because St. Francis was so close to His Sacred Heart.
 
Our Life of Sacrifice
The Franciscan Third Order is also called the Order of Penance. The Third Order was originally established by St. Francis of Assisi to assist people in the world to follow his ideals of the Gospel life. Consequently, the Third Order was never obligated to practice poverty in the same degree as the First and Second Orders. Poverty practiced in Third Order Regular communities is governed by their constitutions, and is consistent with the practical duties of the apostolate.

Our penances are simple, and are best described as the penance of living a sacrificial community life within the framework of a regular schedule under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Because the duties of the apostolate are demanding, the Sisters have regular hours for rest, recreation with the community, and eat ordinary meals. Penances chosen by individual Sisters are regulated by the superior and the confessor. Like St. Francis, the Sisters strive to return love for love, to recognize God's love for us, and to respond to that love by a full recognition of God as our Father, relying on His providence in poverty, and serving Christ in our neighbor within the convent and through works of the apostolate.
St. Francis so closely identified himself with the life of Christ, that he asked God to allow him to suffer as much like Our Lord as possible. Soon after he prayed for this grace, he received the stigmata. He was the first known stigmatist. Our lives of sacrifice must resemble Christ's life of sacrifice in the sacrifices of daily duty within the religious life.

Our Apostolate
The first reason for the existence of all religious communities is the sanctification of its members. The spiritual life must come first in order to be effective in the apostolate. In the mixed life of the active-contemplative, the works of the apostolate extend the spiritual life into active service of our neighbor. To love is to serve, and to love God is to serve Him in our neighbor. St. Francis, loving God as he did, served his neighbor through the care of lepers. The service of neighbor in charity begins within our convent. It is truly the work of the "house Sisters" that supports any apostolic work and makes it possible. Therefore either directly or indirectly, all Sisters have a share in the works of the apostolate.

Our community was founded principally for the purpose of providing teachers for traditional Catholic schools, and this will remain our principal work, although our Constitutions allow for the development of other fields of endeavor, such as care of the sick or the elderly. At this time, the development of the teaching apostolate is our primary work.
At present, three of the Sisters teach on a part-time basis at the SSPX elementary and high schools in Kansas City, Missouri, two at the grade school level and one at the high school level. Eventually, once the community has enough members, it is envisaged that groups of Sisters will be sent to teach at other SSPX schools, upon the recommendation of the District Superior.
 
Preparation for the Apostolate
To prepare Sisters to teach, one must have teachers! Providentially, within the convent walls there are a number with college degrees and also teaching experience, enough to help prepare Sisters for the apostolate. Thanks to arrangements made by Fr. John Fullerton, members of the community have received training from Dr. Marilyn Turkel, an educator from Canada, as well as a course in Catholic educational methodology from Fr. Helmuts Libietis. Various classes in religious studies have also been provided by Society priests Frs. Libietis, Gerard Beck, and Kenneth Novak.

Our Daily Schedule
The Sisters keep General Silence from breakfast time until lunch: necessary speech is permitted during General Silence. Silence is lifted and the Sisters may visit with one another until 2pm, at which time General Silence resumes. Silence is lifted during or after supper for recreation. Grand (strict) Silence is observed from the end of evening recreation until breakfast time the following morning. Sisters assigned to duties which require speech are excused from silence during those duties. There is reading at table during meals, but the Superior may choose to suspend the reading and lift silence at table for particular occasions such as feast days.

Requirements for Entrance
Candidates considering our Community should have a genuine desire to give themselves to God in the religious life, have at least average intelligence, and possess a willingness to learn. Candidates should be between the ages of 18 and 35, although some exceptions for candidates over 35 will be considered. Candidates should be in fairly good health. A small dowry is asked as well as room and board fees during the pre-postulancy, postulancy, and novitiate. The financial details are discussed with serious candidates. English is the language of the community. The ages of its members range from 23-51. All hail from the United States at this time (Alaska, New Jersey, Oregon, and California) except one who is from Australia.
In the spring and summer of 2006, Sr. Mary Joseph and Sr. Mary Bonaventure have been visiting a number of schools and churches to familiarize traditional Catholics with the community and to generate interest in vocations. They visited Phoenix (Arizona), Albuquerque (New Mexico), Denver (Colorado), Fort Wayne (Indiana), Cleveland (Ohio), Ridgefield (Connecticut), the Auriesville Pilgrimage, Syracuse (New York), Armada (Michigan), the Ordinations at Winona, and Mukwanago (Wisconsin). Further visits to parishes in North Carolina, Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Mexico (Missouri), are scheduled for August.

For information (or to receive the Franciscans' newsletter):
Sr. Mary Joseph of the Child Jesus
Franciscan Convent of Christ the King
1409 E. Meyer Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64131
Phone: 816-333-1463
N.B.: The nuns do not use e-mail. The cartoon on the title page
was drawn by one of the Franciscan Sisters.