Ascension Mission

In 1885, Mother Frances Streitel founded the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. They responded to suffering in body, mind, and spirit. Arriving in Wichita, KS, in 1889, the Sisters took over St. Francis Hospital, building a thriving health organization. A 1957 cornerstone laying celebrated the hospital's remarkable growth, deemed the "greatest story in the history of Wichita," achieved by dedicated women. Over decades, the Sisters expanded care throughout the Midwest, establishing innovative sites from cities to logging camps, eventually joining Ascension in 2013.

In the 19th century, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded a community of Sisters in the U.S. that merged with France's Daughters of Charity, forming the first U.S. Daughters community, inspired by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marilliac. Mother Seton, canonized in 1975, established a religious community in Emmitsburg, MD, dedicated to caring for poor children, and is credited with creating America's first Catholic school system. She passed away in 1821, but the Daughters' work continued. Over decades, the Daughters expanded care nationwide, transitioning into the Daughters of Charity National Health System (DCNHS) from the 1940s to 1986, which included five provinces. In 1999 DCNHS merged with the health system of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth to form Ascension Health. In 2011 the Province of St. Louise was established, located in St. Louis, and unifying several United States provinces of the Daughters. 

The Sisters of St. Joseph began with six women meeting in a small kitchen in LePuy, France in 1650 who shared a desire to grow in their love of God and serve the unmet needs of the people around them, whom they came to call their “dear neighbors.” These women, with the spiritual direction of a Jesuit priest, Jean Pierre Medaille, formed the first community of Sisters of St. Joseph. Under the direction of Mother St. John, seven sisters journeyed from France to America in 1836 to work with deaf children in St. Louis at the invitation of the Bishop. Over the years, the Sisters of St. Joseph expanded their sites of care across Michigan, and by 1998, the ministry had grown into the Sisters of St. Joseph Health System.  They joined the Daughters of Charity to form Ascension in 1999 as the first two historic founders.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet, sharing French roots with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, arrived in the U.S. in 1836 from Lyon to open a school for the deaf in St. Louis, establishing convents in Cahokia, Illinois, and Carondelet, Missouri. The Sisters began hospital ministry in 1908 in Elmira, New York, expanding to provide hospital and home care across the Midwest and South. In Selma, AL, they offered crucial medical care to the African-American community, often treating victims of white supremacists, and participated in Civil Rights actions while providing direct care for decades. In 1981, they formed the Health Care Corporate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, later named Carondelet Health System, by uniting 13 healthcare institutions. In 2002, the Carondelet Health System joined Ascension Health.

Originating over 800 years ago in Europe, the Alexian Brothers began as laymen caring for the poor, sick, and helpless. They aided Black Plague victims in 1347 and became an official religious order in 1472, adopting St. Alexius as their patron. Their ministry reached the U.S. in 1866 with Brother Bonaventure Thelen, who founded a hospital in Chicago. They gained a reputation for compassion and expertise during the 1866 cholera epidemic, a reputation that continues today. For seven centuries, the Alexian Brothers have served the disadvantaged. Notably, during the early AIDS epidemic when many institutions hesitated, they created a comprehensive care program for those suffering. Today, Alexian Brothers ministries are part of the Ascension Illinois Ministry Market.