ALTON — The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George will celebrate the reception into the novitiate of two postulants and the Golden Jubilee of Sister M. Bernard Simmons during Holy Mass at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki will be the main celebrant of the Mass, celebrated at St. Francis Convent, Alton. He will be joined by other bishops and priests.

Sister M. Bernard Simmons, FSGM, the daughter of the late Roger Simmons and Therese (Simmons) Coppage, made her profession of vows on March 20, 1967. She taught at St. Matthew Elementary School in Alton, as well as in schools in Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas.

The postulants who will be accepted into the novitiate, and receive their habits and their new religious names, are Molly Larkin (Sister M. Maris Stella), daughter of Dennis and Jean Larkin of Overland Park, Kan.; and Rachel Garzon (Sister Maria Consuela), daughter of Dawn Garzon and Jaime Alonso Garzon of Lake St. Louis, Mo.

A reception for the sisters will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Perpetual Help Center of OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center.