POOR SISTERS OF SAINT FRANCIS. - A religious institute founded in Aachen by Francesca Schervier, who, in 1845, joined with four other young women in placing themselves at the service of the poor of the city, in order to relieve their material and spiritual miseries.
They rented a small house, from which they went out only to care for the sick in their homes or to serve as cooks and distributors in soup kitchens. Subsequently they also opened houses in which they gave refuge to women of ill repute in order to lead them back to God and society. Their example attracted many vocations, so that the municipality of Aachen was able to entrust to them in 1878 the care of a very large hospital for contagious diseases; from there they were called to many other cities. Card. Geisel, on 2 July 1851, erected the association into a congregation, giving it the Rule of St. Francis and certain statutes to be observed. Having spread in Germany, France, Denmark, and also in America, the Institute obtained the decree of praise on 20 Aug. 1870 and definitive approval on 6 Oct. 1908. At present there are 123 houses divided into 6 provinces, and 2,482 sisters.