On March 31, the Chiara Center in Springfield will close permanently. The Chiara Center is a retreat and conference center on the grounds of St. Francis Convent, the home of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, at 4875 LaVerna Road, Springfield.

The Chiara Center has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and it has been closed since March 2020. Two months later, the sisters decided to suspend all activities until the end of August when a decision was made to suspend all activities indefinitely. These decisions were made to comply with the guidelines instituted by the State of Illinois and to protect the sisters, employees, and guests.

“As we anticipated the future use of the Chiara Center in the post-COVID time, we realized that we could not expect the activity to return to pre-COVID levels and so we made the difficult decision to close the Chiara Center permanently,” said Sister Maureen O’Connor, OSF, provincial superior of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.

Founded on March 22, 2007, the Chiara Center is an ecumenical faith community dedicated to the discovery and healing presence of God within one’s self, everyday life, relationships, and all creation. All programs, services, and hospitality are grounded in the spirit and heritage of Francis and Clare of Assisi.

“In the Chiara Center, named in honor of St. Clare of Assisi by using her Italian name ‘Chiara,’ we are reminded that it is on holy ground,” Sister Maureen said. “Since the early 1920s, this is the site of the original motherhouse where many of our older sisters were first welcomed into our community, where countless people received care at St. John’s Tuberculosis Sanatorium from 1919 to 1973, and where many guests visited for a time of retreat at the Franciscan Apostolic Center (FAC) from 1974 to 1992.”