Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

Earlier this month, the FSPA integral ecology team, with help from local Ho-Chunk youth, collected roughly 50 gallons of sap from maple trees on FSPA Land - St. Joseph Ridge. The team is now boiling down the sap to make maple syrup! 🍯

"To make a pilgrimage is to surrender to a place until it changes you," shares Sister Laura Nettles. "We knew that to honor her [Sister Thea Bowman] holiness meant finally confronting the painful truths she had always compelled us to see." globalsistersreport.org/columns/social…

Nearly 30 years ago, Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, an award-winning artist, found himself in a hospital room as his father battled colon cancer. One afternoon he came across a magazine and in it was the last interview with Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman — an African American woman who challenged the Church in the 20th century to confront its history of racial exclusion and to embrace Black Catholics through her work as a scholar, teacher, and speaker. “I had never heard of the woman in my life, but I read this article right there on the spot and I thought, ‘Wow, she was something. How did I miss her all this time,’” McGrath told EWTN News. “Music was at the very heart of her whole ministry,” he added. “And so, that struck me too as an artist, that she was using her artistic gifts to advance her spirit.” One year later, McGrath welcomed a couple of brothers into his home who were preparing to take their final vows. Together they watched a video on Bowman that left him “energized and inspired.” “The next morning, I got up and started painting and I didn’t stop for two weeks,” he said. “And in two weeks’ time I had nine paintings in a style very different from anything I had ever done before … It was like I was touching things that were already deep in me, you know, spiritually, but I didn’t have access to.” Now McGrath has 47 paintings inspired by Bowman that have been packaged into boxes and sent to Rome for review to advance her cause for canonization. The diocesan phase of Bowman’s cause for canonization was officially closed by the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, on Feb. 9. McGrath attended the Mass for this occasion, which was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kopacz and held in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. He called it a “truly wonderful event.” Notable figures in attendance included three sisters from Bowman’s community; Meg Paulino, their community archivist; and Emanuele Spedicato, the postulator for her cause for canonization. Reflecting on his paintings, McGrath said one stands out among the rest: a painting titled “This Little Light of Mine.” A painting from his first nine paintings inspired by Bowman — which he calls “the spirituals” — this painting depicts Bowman in a green habit holding a monstrance up in the air. He explained that it connects the classic song with “the light of Christ.” McGrath shared that Bowman continues to provide Catholics with an important message today: “We’re all made in the image and likeness of God, and that’s got to be preeminent.” Bowman, born Bertha Bowman in 1937 in Mississippi, was a trailblazing Catholic sister, educator, and evangelist. A member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, she converted to Catholicism as a child and later became one of the most compelling advocates for Black Catholic spirituality in the United States. With a doctorate in English literature and a gift for storytelling, Bowman traveled the country speaking, singing, and teaching — urging the Church to embrace the cultural gifts of African American Catholics. In 1989, despite battling cancer, Bowman addressed the U.S. bishops with a now-famous speech that blended gospel song, humor, and a prophetic call for unity. Her witness left a lasting impression, and in 2018 her cause for canonization was formally opened by the Diocese of Jackson, giving her the title “servant of God.” ewtnnews.com/world/us/meet-…

Learn more and apply: secure7.saashr.com/ta/6215522.car…

✨ Do you have a background in marketing, communications or religious studies — and a passion for supporting religious life and vocational discernment? We are seeking a full-time vocation promotion assistant to join our discernment team at St. Rose Convent.

How many of the bird species listed above have you observed in your own backyard?

During our birding hikes earlier this month, participants spotted and recorded 113 birds on FSPA Land - St. Joseph Ridge in four hours! These observations were then submitted online to contribute to the global data collected during the Great Backyard Bird Count, held Feb. 13-16.

This week, archivist Meg Paulino and artist Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, share their journey to Mississippi for the closing of the diocesan phase of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman’s canonization cause. Listen: talking.catholicstarherald.org/podcast/bowman…

A must-listen🎙️! FSPA archivist, Meg Paulino, and Sister Thea Bowman artist, Brother Mickey McGrath, share their experiences of witness -- documentation and creation -- to Sister Thea's cause for canonization in Rome! Want more about Sister Thea? Visit fspa.org/content/about/….

@TalkingCatholic @CathStarHerald The diocesan phase of Sister Thea Bowman's cause for canonization has concluded, and FSPA Archivist Meg Paulino and Thea artist, Brother Mickey McGrath, are talking about getting her and seven boxes of documentation and artwork to Rome. Scroll to roughly 7:50 to listen.

Interested? Click the following link to learn more and apply today: secure7.saashr.com/ta/6215522.car…

As the liturgist and musician, you will oversee, coordinate and be responsible for all aspects of the Eucharistic liturgies, sacramental celebrations and special prayer services, as well as coordinate music within the Franciscan community.

✨ We are seeking a full-time liturgist and musician to join our team at St. Rose Convent, the spiritual heart and administrative center of FSPA.

Join us and Christians nationwide by answering Franciscan Action Network's call to courageous and faithful witness in our nation's crisis of faith and democracy: Visit fspa.org/news/crisis-of… and pledge your support of the movement now.

"... our preaching, teaching, song, dance or art ... are gifts to the church as Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman ... stated during her address to the U.S. bishops in 1989." americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2…

Cull logs & slash (mostly treetops & limbs) are parts of trees that cannot be sold in a timber sale. This wood can be used for firewood & small woodworking projects. The FSPA land team does not have a use for all of it and is seeking community members who can put it to good use.

After seven years, the seals are set on boxes full of “more than 15,000 pages … collected of her writings, witness statements and proof of her service to God” and on their way to Rome. wlbt.com/2026/02/10/sis…

Learn more and apply today at fspa.org/content/s/empl…!

✨ Do you enjoy working with seniors and have a passion for fostering the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of others? We are seeking part-time and full-time registered nurses/licensed practical nurses to join our PM shift at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse.

"... we all want to be treated as an individual, and this will help that happen."