Viterbo honors FSPA with Founder’s Day celebration

Viterbo celebrated Founder’s Day on Feb 13 as a way to honor the legacy of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and their association with the university. Two parts of the celebration was a morning Founder’s Day Liturgy with the FSPA, along with a Storytime with the Sisters event in the afternoon.

The church service was held at 11:15 a.m. in Mary of the Angels Chapel, with service led by Father Richard, a priest of the Franciscan order. The mass was dedicated to St. Rose of Viterbo, and in the homily Fr. Richard described the saint as “a person who responded to the needs of her time” and explained her example continues to inspire others.

After mass, the sisters were presented with a ‘Wordle’ word collage by Viterbo President Glenda Temple and other representatives from the university. The Wordle had been created before Founders’ Day, there had been a survey of Viterbo students, asking them which words they most associated with the FSPA sisters. Those phrases were then put together in a collage, framed, and given to the sisters. For those curious, it can be seen in St. Rose Convent’s Gathering Room.

Several university students attended, along with representatives and staff from the university and the sisters themselves. Miranda Myszka, a sophomore English education major, went to the liturgical service because “I always enjoy coming to mass with the sisters, getting to celebrate the heritage that’s pretty cool.” She also commented on how great it was to see how much the FSPA was still engrained into the Viterbo community.

Cali Gurnicki, a sophomore religious studies major also attended. She came to mass because “it’s important to show the sisters that there are students who care about this partnership and relationship.”

Storytime with the Sisters took place at 3 p.m. in the Gathering Room of St. Rose Convent. Sister Laura Nettles, FSPA, and member of the Viterbo faculty helped plan the event.

The original idea of the Storytime was that it was an opportunity for people from Viterbo to meet and reconnect with members of the university’s founding organization. “You see, back in the day, like the 70s and 80s there were so may of them that worked here, so employees staff and students knew a lot of sisters,” Nettles elaborated. But, that has changed as few of Viterbo’s faculty or students ever have a chance to encounter and interact with the sisters. “People have lamented that loss of the connection with the sisters, so what better way than on a Founder’s Day, than to just go and reconnect or connect with the sisters and hear their stories,” Nettles went on to say.

About ten FSPA sisters participated in the event. One was Sister Joan Moore, who took her first vows in 1980, and eventually became the dean of 12 departments at the university. She talked about how there’s still a real sense of ownership that the sisters hold regarding Viterbo, “but we know that we’re the neighbors across the street.”

Another sister was Mildred Tubbs, who was a U.S. history teacher at a Catholic high school for years and has travelled extensively to places like Indonesia, China, and Paris.

Nettles commented that she’s heard nothing but good things from everyone who participated: “I think people really appreciated it” It’s likely that they will continue the storytelling event with future Founder’s Days.