The Franciscan Spirit Endures

Lorain, Ohio

St. Anthony of Padua School in Lorain, Ohio is not simply Franciscan by name. Opened in 1925, the school was staffed by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis Minor Conventuals. Conventual Franciscan Friar Isadore Rafferty had invited the sisters from Syracuse, New York to educate the area’s Catholic children.

St. Anthony of Padua School maintains a Franciscan spirit,

which includes a high level of education

As time passed, St. Anthony of Padua School really developed a Franciscan spirit. This was due in part to the religious women – like Sister Mary Raphael, Sister Mary Euphrasia, Sister Mary Arcadia, and Sister Mary Patricia – who worked there as well as the Conventual Franciscan Friars. Friar Ambrose Finnegan was a particularly memorable educator at the school. He joined St. Anthony of Padua in 1938. Two years later, the school started an organization called the Franciscan Cord Bearers. Members of this group learned about Franciscan ideals and applied them in their own lives.

In the 1980s, the sisters from the Order of St. Francis Minor Conventuals who had been staffing St. Anthony of Padua School returned to Syracuse, New York. Members of the lay community took over the running of their school. The sisters’ lasting influence plus the school’s close relationship with St. Anthony of Padua Parish and the friars who work there, keeps St. Anthony of Padua’s Franciscan spirit alive and well.

(References for all related images on webpage and homepage: www.wikipedia.org and www.stanthonylorain.com.)