In accordance with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peter’s Parish and School honored Franciscan Sisters, Sister Bernard Marie Campbell and Sister Paula Bingert, during an all-school Mass service on Thursday morning.
Together, the Sisters have devoted over 100 years of service to St. Peter’s.
An alumnus of St. Peter’s High School, Bingert became the elementary librarian in 1976 and recently retired in 2011. Since retirement, she has been working in the parish heritage room.
Campbell taught at the high school for 50 years and she currently works in the development office.
Both Sisters have striven to live in a manner that imitates the way of St. Francis—an Italian Catholic who lived during the early 1200s.
“To be a Franciscan Sister, that means that you follow the rules of St. Francis, and his rule was the gospel way of life. And that’s the foundation of our community—to follow the gospel way of life,” said Bingert.
Campbell added, “We try to live simply and care about the poor as Francis did.”
The two agreed that the example they were given when they were in high school by the Franciscan Sisters inspired them to pursue the same vocation. “I was impressed by their simplicity and sincerity,” explained Campbell.
During the Mass service, Father Jeremy Miller noted that over 400 Franciscan Sisters have served St. Peter’s since 1871. “This tradition goes back a long time and we’re grateful for that,” said Miller.
Campbell stated, “When Sister Paula and I leave, that will be the end of the history of the Sisters of St. Francis at St. Peter’s Mansfield.”
Father Miller encouraged those at the Mass to join the Sisters in their mission of living like St. Francis: “Let’s try, on this Feast of St. Francis, to follow a humble, small little path to God, because then we have space for God to speak to us. And we’re grateful for the little ways that the Franciscan Sisters have served this school and this parish for so long, and we hope to imitate that in our lives.”
