A Felician-Sponsored Ministry
Compassionate Care to Families in Need
Providing leadership rooted in Felician tradition
On February 1, 2021, in an action celebrated on both coasts, St. Anne’s Family Services—one of Los Angeles’ most highly-regarded social services agencies—was proudly accepted into the community of the Felician Sisters of North America, Our Lady of Hope Province in Pennsylvania. This sponsorship is overseen by the management arm of the Felician Sisters, Felician Services, Inc.
St. Anne’s Family Services continues to remain unique in Los Angeles by offering comprehensive services to children and families of all faiths. “We believe being part of the Felician Sisters community of ministries helps strengthen our commitment to our families and community members who come to us from diverse racial, ethnic and faith backgrounds,” said Lorna Little, President and CEO of the 114-year old organization. “We are thrilled to have had such empowering and forward-thinking leadership with the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart for more than 80 years, and we look forward to the next phase of our journey with the Felicians.”
The St. Anne’s sponsorship transfer follows a multi-year search for a successor by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Illinois, which served as St. Anne’s sponsor for more than eight decades. With the Felician Sisters, the Franciscan Sisters found a Franciscan-based congregation that shares its values of faith in action.
St. Anne’s and the Felician Sisters of North America were both born out of a profound desire to minister to society’s most vulnerable people. In explaining their compatibility and growing its ministry with the addition of St. Anne’s Family Services, Sister Mary Christopher Moore, Provincial Minister of the Felician Sisters of North America, said: “Our foundress, Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska, began her ministry by providing compassionate care to women and children in need, so it is a privilege for us now to welcome St. Anne’s, an organization with a mission so aligned to our own, into the Felician family. We feel blessed that the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart entrusted us with the sponsorship of their beloved ministry as it continues and expands its impact on the Los Angeles County community.”
With the addition of St. Anne’s Family Services, the Felician Sisters today support more than 40 ministries throughout North America.
Felician Sisters Foundress, Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska
Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska, baptized as Sophia Camille, was born in Kalisz, Poland, on May 16, 1825. Members of noble families, her parents were well-educated. Her mother, a devout Catholic, had a great influence on her faith. Her compassion for the underprivileged grew as she gained invaluable insight into the social ills and issues of her time from her father, a juvenile court judge.
On November 21, 1855, she consecrated herself totally to God and forged a new religious community steeped in the values and ideals of Saint Francis of Assisi. The mission of Mother Angela’s congregation was clear. The Felician Sisters would work to ensure that “in all and by all, God may be known, loved and glorified.” At the age of 44, she resigned from the role of superior general, but she continued to watch over and guide her spiritual daughters and heartily endorsed the plan to send sisters to North America, personally blessing the five pioneers as they left Poland in 1874. Mother Angela died on October 10, 1899.
