The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Sisters sponsor a number of healthcare, education and social service ministries in Louisiana and Mississippi. We are an organization of religious Sisters called to religious vocations, and we operate hospitals, clinics, physician practices, outreach clinics and various education programs. Our social service ministries include caring for people experiencing homelessness, single mothers, the impoverished, and people in prison or adjusting to life after their release. We operate a university with a healthcare emphasis. Degrees are offered in nursing, health sciences, humanities, behavioral sciences, natural sciences, theology and business administration.
The Sisters believe in the call to serve those most in need by extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. As such, we work directly in our healthcare organization. We also provide leadership and governance oversight by serving as members of multiple Boards of Directors.
The North American Province of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady is the parent organization of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, a not-for-profit corporation organized under Louisiana law. The North American Province is part of the international Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, which conducts health and education programs in 17 countries worldwide, and operates under a mandate of the Roman Catholic Church.
In more than 100 years serving in Louisiana and Mississippi, about 140 Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Sisters have cared for the people in these states at several facilities: St Francis in Monroe, which opened in 1913; Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, which opened in 1923; Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Lafayette, which opened in 1949; Our Lady of the Lake Ascension in Gonzales, which became part of the health system in 2000; Our Lady of the Angels in Bogalusa, which opened in 2014; Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge; Our Lady of Lourdes Women's & Children's Hospital, which joined the system in 2019; and St. Dominic's Health Services in Jackson, Mississippi, which joined the system in 2019.
Our health system has grown into a major multi-state ministry. It is a testament to the Franciscan Sisters’ dedicated, highly motivated and pioneering work. We are humbled by the fact that there are so many team members — more than 18,000 — dedicated to supporting our ministry and serving those most in need. Our healthcare ministry is well respected and appreciated by the communities we serve.
Our services across Acadiana care for all ages and all healthcare needs.
Across the nine-parish Capital Region, we are proud to be the top provider of care.
We are here to help you with hospitals and clinics across central and southern Mississippi.
We are proud to serve the communities of Northeast Louisiana and its surrounding parishes.
Our hospitals, surgery centers and clinics span the Northshore and provide healthcare for all.
