JOLIET, Il. — The Province of the Sacred Heart is commemorating its 150th anniversary this year.
The Province was founded in 1858 by Franciscan friars of Germany who came to serve the needs of the Diocese of Alton (Springfield, Il.), according to the Jan. 31 issue of Around the Province, Sacred Heart’s weekly newsletter.
Benet Fonck, OFM, writes that the timing is appropriate. The “origins of the province flow into the 800th anniversary of the origins of the Order of Friars Minor in 2009.”
Further information is available in the newsletter (see link below); it includes key dates in the province’s history.