In the years after the Renewal Chapter of 1968 the Congregation moved from a hierarchical style of leadership, where most decision-making was done by the Superior General and Council, to a model where decisions were made with the input of all Sisters.
Daily life also moved from dependence on superiors to a holistic model of interdependence, cooperation with fellow Sisters, and co-responsibility.
Religious life in general moved from being guided by masculine experience to trusting feminine experience. The 1968 Chapter Members formulated 21 (now 23) Principles. Together with Our Gospel Way of Life, they are the basis of personal, community, and Congregational life and allow the Congregation to grow and change as society changes.
By 1980, the Congregation wanted to examine and revise the 12-year-old Constitution, Our Gospel Way of Life, to better reflect a feminine model of leadership and authority. Extraordinary Assembly delegates, meeting in advance of the 1980 General Chapter, decided that a Constitution Committee should be formed with Sr. Margaret Mary Modde, OSF, JCD, as Consultant.
After the Chapter, Community Service Board members Srs. Mary Jacinta Doyle and Marie Clement Edrich were appointed to conduct a Constitution Study.
Discussions on the revised Constitutions began in 1981. Sr. Mary Jacinta was responsible for leading the project with Sr. Marie Clement assisting. Sisters from the United States were asked to serve on a Constitutions Task Force, and Sisters in Brazil, Italy, and Senegal were appointed liaisons to the Task Force.
The members of the Constitution Committee, Srs. Arlene McGowan, Bernadette Sullivan, and Marcia Dahlinghaus, were announced in March of that year. Progress in the revisions was shared at the 1981 Congregational Assembly along with a history of the development of the earliest Constitutions and historical revisions over time. Later that year, Srs. Marilyn Fischer and Marie Clement updated Fr. Basil Heiser of the Sacred Congregation for Religious on the 1980 General Chapter and the initial progress of revising the Constitutions.
The years 1982 and 1983 saw workshops on the revised Constitutions. The Constitutions Task Force traveled to each Region, explaining their work, leading discussions, and collecting feedback on the revisions.
The proposed revisions were presented and discussed at length at the 1984 General Chapter. Sr. Margaret Mary Modde again attended, providing guidance on Canon Law. The Constitutions were ratified by more than the necessary two-thirds vote by the Chapter Members.
A week-long Constitutions retreat was held at Pinecroft House of Peace in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, in 1985. This was an opportunity to promote the integration of the new constitutions into the life experience of the Sisters. The original Task Force, with the addition of Sr. Arleen Bourquin, led reflections on Healing through Heritage, Consecrated Life, Our Life Together, Ministry, and Leadership.
Sr. Marilyn Fischer presented the newly accepted Constitutions to the Sacred Congregation in 1985. Later, Sr. Mary Linscott, SNDdeN, representing CRIS (Congregatio pro Religiosis et Institutis Saecularibus), suggested clarifications on the intent of several statements. These included the importance of the word “Healing” to the Congregation, the definition of the term “Membership Development,” and the words and terms used for service roles of authority within the Congregation.
The terms used to represent authority roles, including “Minister” and “Councilor” reflected the Congregation’s Franciscan tradition and heritage. The 1987 Annals explain the significance of healing: “It is in the light of that and the desire that our charism be expressed in the whole of our life that we use healing throughout the document.”
The updated document also explained “membership development” as the development of all women in the Congregation, including those interested in joining as well as the continuing development of all Sisters.
Authority and structure were modified to reflect Principles 15, 16, and 17: Authority, Co-responsibility, and Subsidiarity. Authority is responsible leadership used in a spirit of service.
Co-responsibility is the right and responsibility of all members of a community to dialogue and contribute to decision-making.
Subsidiarity is the “principle that authority in religious life is never to be exercised at a level higher than is truly necessary for the good of the congregation.”
The terms for the service roles of authority in the congregation were changed to be less hierarchical and more reflective of servant leadership and Franciscanism.
The revised document, intended to be presented to CRIS, was distributed to each sister in 1987. Sr. Marilyn Fischer presented a third and final draft to Sr. Mary Linscott in 1988. The date of April 28, the anniversary of the Beatification of Mother Frances Schervier, was requested as the date for formal promulgation. After another few minor changes in wording, the newly revised Constitutions were formally approved on the fourteenth anniversary of the Beatification of Mother Frances Schervier.
In 1996, one mandate of the General Chapter was a review of the Constitutions and the incorporation of Chapter Directions taken since the updated Constitutions were approved in 1988. Congregational Leadership appointed one Sister from each region to serve on a Congregational Constitutions Commission.
The Commission members were Sister Jeanne Glisky, Chairperson and representative for the Congregation; Sister Tania Maria Ribeiro Machado representing Brazil; Sister Tiziana Merletti representing Italy and Senegal, and Sister Therese Martin Hessler representing the United States. Sister Lynn Jarrell, OSU, JCD, served as the Cannon Law consultant. All Sisters were invited to participate in the review.
The Commission completed a thorough review of the Constitutions except for the section on Membership Development and a review of the recommendations of the New Millennium Committee. The international New Millennium Committee explored the 1996 Chapter Directive to initiate and influence efforts for raising a new awareness, vision, and attitude towards justice, peace, and ecology. The Commission’s work was presented at the 2000 General Chapter. The Chapter members approved the inclusion of the following in the Constitutions and Directory: a new chapter “Healing through Prayer and Contemplation”; a Directory Article on Prayer; and Five Directory Articles which further integrate the multicultural nature of the Congregation. The changes resulting from the review of the Membership Develop section and the New Millennium Committee recommendations were adopted at the 2004 General Chapter.
“May the generous living of these Constitutions encourage all the Sisters to an ever-deeper commitment to the consecrated life, in accordance with the spirit of Mother Frances, and following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi” (from the Decree of approval)
