Mother Mary Augustine Giesen (1860-1950)

Today marks the death of Mary Augustine Giesen (1860-1950), foundress of the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville. Born in Minnesota, she joined the Sisters of St. Mary in St. Louis as a young woman. In 1894 she and six sisters founded a separate community, the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville. That year they founded a hospital in Maryville. While the Sisters of St. Mary worked largely in the St. Louis urban area, the Sisters of St. Francis worked in more rural areas. In 1985, as numbers declined in both communities, they remerged with the Sisters of St. Mary to form the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.