The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis are holding their international leadership conference April 14-25 at the Chiara Center in Springfield. Shown here are (left to right) Sister M. Jessy Karathrakaran, Indian Region superior, Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa, Japan Province superior, Sister Jomary Trstensky, American Province superior, Sister M. Daria Krawczyk, Polish Province superior, Sister M. Birgitte Herrmann, German Province superior, and Sister Sherrey Murphy, general superior.

The American Province of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is hosting their congregation's International Leadership Conference from April 14-25 at Chiara Center, Springfield. The 20 Hospital Sisters' congregation representatives will discuss various aspects about their international life in their ministry of healing. Bishop George J. Lucas will celebrate a Mass with the sisters on April 20 in St. Francis of Assisi Church.

The conference is held every two years as part of an effort to enhance the international relationships among the Hospital Sisters in Germany, Poland, USA, Japan, and India, according to the Hospital Sisters. The conference is hosted in one of these locations.

Presiding over the conference is the international leadership whose offices are in Muenster, Germany. Sister Sherrey Murphy, general superior and chairperson of the conference, is a member of the American Province of the Hospital Sisters and the second American general superior in the congregation's 162-year history. Originally from South Dakota, she is serving a six-year term and replaced Sister Mary Ann Minor (a native of Stonington) who served as general superior for the prior 12 years and was the first American and first non-German general superior in the congregation's history. In addition, Sister Mary Beth Bux, also a member of the American Province and originally from Belleville, serves with Sister Sherrey in Germany and is attending the conference.

The Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis is an international, multi-cultural congregation of Franciscan Sisters founded in Germany in 1844. The congregation currently has more than 1,100 sisters throughout the world united in a common mission that brings Christ's healing presence to humanity and supports creative ways of responding to the sick, poor and needy. For more information on the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, please visit their Web site at hospitalsisters.org .