The day will include an open house at the Marian Sisters’ Marycrest Motherhouse, a designated Franciscan site for the Jubilee year. The open house will be followed by an outdoor Mass at 5 p.m. Mass at the Catholic Center Tower.
Southern Nebraska Register
The Catholic Center near Waverly will host special celebrations Saturday, Aug. 15, in honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
The day will include an open house at the Marian Sisters’ Marycrest Motherhouse near Waverly, which is one of the designated Franciscan sites for the Jubilee year. The open house will be followed by a 5 p.m. Mass at the Catholic Center Tower.
August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and one of the two primary feast days for the Marian Sisters; the second is Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. While the Assumption is not a holy day of obligation this year – since it falls on a Saturday – the Church still recognizes it as a liturgical solemnity. The Marian Sisters decided it would be an opportune time to open their chapel to the public and encourage prayerful devotion to St. Francis.
The staff of Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House will host the outdoor Mass. It has been a tradition to celebrate Mass on this feast at the tower on the grounds. The retreat house also celebrates its Franciscan history at this Mass during the year dedicated to St. Francis. For the first 15 years after its founding, the retreat house was run by Franciscans. The chapel at Our Lady of Good Counsel is recognized as an indulgence site this year due to those Franciscan roots.
The 5 p.m. Mass celebrated Aug. 15 will be in honor of the Solemnity of the Assumption, but will meet the obligation for Sunday. Attendees should bring lawn chairs and bug spray.
In January, Pope Leo XIV published the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary for the 800th Anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. It states that, “all the faithful without distinction who, with a heart detached from sin, participate in the Year of Saint Francis by visiting, in the form of a pilgrimage, any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship anywhere in the world dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him for any reason, and there devoutly follow the Jubilee rites or spend at least a reasonable period of time in pious meditation and raise prayers to God so that, following the example of Saint Francis, feelings of Christian charity towards their neighbors and authentic vows of harmony and peace among peoples may spring forth in their hearts, concluding with the Our Father, the Creed and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family.”
The chapel at the Marian Sisters’ motherhouse is connected to St. Francis because the Marian Sisters have a Franciscan heritage and follow the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi. Communities following this Rule are a branch of the Franciscan family where members live in community, take religious vows, and follow the Rule of St. Francis in a life of prayer, penance and service.
While the title Franciscan is not in the name of the community, the Marian Sisters are proud of their Franciscan heritage which began with the community’s foundresses, Sister Marta Silna and Sister Theresa Gottvold. Sister Marta and Sister Theresa began their religious life as Mercy Sisters of St. Francis in Brno, Czechoslovakia. Both worked as registered nurses in hospitals when their country was still free. They then worked under Nazi rule, during World War II, and later after the war, under the communist regime in their country.
The sisters’ motherhouse was confiscated by the communists and used for government purposes. In 1950, Sister Marta and Sister Theresa fled their country because of religious suppression, escaping with the help of the people involved in the underground. They took refuge in Austria and worked as nurses in a hospital in Innsbruck. They sought passage to any free country and eventually were invited to Lincoln by Bishop Kucera.
Due to struggles with emigration, they were separated for more than two years, but reunited at the Diocese of Lincoln’s St. Thomas Orphange, which once stood near 27th & Hwy 2 in Lincoln. It was at the orphanage that the first young women entered the community and took vows as Mercy Sisters of St. Francis. However, due to communication struggles with the original community in Brno, now deep in Communist territory, the Congregation was later renamed the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln. Their current motherhouse was the first building built at the Catholic Center – the Sisters moved in Sept. 10, 1963.
During this year, the Church offers a plenary indulgence to those who, with faith, “visit, in the form of a pilgrimage, any Franciscan place of worship dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him for any reason.” The usual conditions – sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Holy Father – should be met.
There will be several opportunities Aug. 15 to meet these obligations. There will be a Franciscan prayer or song offered every hour and a relic of St Francis as well as relics of other Franciscan saints available for veneration. Confessions will be available from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Additionally, the Marian Sisters will offer light refreshments.
About the Jubilee Year
In January, Pope Leo XIV published the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary for the 800th Anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
Through Jan. 10, 2027, the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence while making a pilgrimage to any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship dedicated to St. Francis. The elderly, the sick, and those who, for serious reasons, cannot leave their homes, can obtain the plenary indulgence by spiritually joining in the jubilee celebrations and offering their prayers, pains, or sufferings to God.
Any of the faithful who, with a heart detached from sin, participate in the Year of Saint Francis can receive this plenary indulgence under the three usual conditions (making a good confession, receiving the Holy Eucharist and praying for the intentions of the pope), along with making a pilgrimage to any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship.
Sites in the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln appropriate for this indulgence are: St. Francis Church (Center) near David City, St. Francis Oratory in Lincoln, and Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly. Several religious institutions in the diocese also have a Franciscan charism, such as the motherhouses of the Marian Sisters and of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Nebraska City.
