Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa history

In 1873, at the request of Bishop William McCloskey, Diocese of Louisville, the sisters left Gethsemani for Shelbyville, Kentucky, and became incorporated under the title of The Literary and Benevolent Society of Our Lady of Angels.

Two Jesuit priests who were in Shelbyville to give a mission in September 1888 were appalled at the living conditions of the sisters and urged them to apply for acceptance into the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa.

The move started in September 1890 and by December all thirty-three sisters had arrived in Iowa and were welcomed by and stayed with the Dubuque Sisters of St Francis.

The sisters purchased the Judge Chase property and moved to Clinton in 1893 and named the motherhouse and academy for girls, Mount St Clare.

In 1911 a new Mount St Clare structure was built on the Doctor J. S. Corbin property.

It became Mount Alverno in 1914, the first home for the aged and infirmed in Clinton County.

Mount St Clare Academy received accreditation from North Central Association in 1931.

In 1943, the St Michael Speech and Hearing, later called Mount St Clare Speech and Hearing, was started and served Iowa and Illinois residents.

The Friars built the first wing for retreatants and on August 15, 1949 gave their first retreat to the Calgary Diocesan clergy.

The Second Vatican Council opened in 1962, with the desire of bringing the church into the modern world.

In December 1971, Clinton Franciscans were part of a group of Catholic sisters who created a nationwide “network” of women religious who would engage in political activism at the federal level for social justice.

The main corridor was completed in 1977 linking the sandstone house to the conference room and retreatants wing.

In 1979 the college offered baccalaureate degrees; the first degree was Business Administration.

In the late 1980’s the Sisters moved to Mount St Francis.

Today this is NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice in Washington, DC. One of our sisters was a co-founder of the Franciscan Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations in 1982.

The first lay board was empowered to oversee the management of the college in 1983.

Later it was used as Immaculate Conception Academy, and then as a retirement home for the Sisters. It opened in January 1989.

Bob Mitchell joined the team in 1994, coming from Lumsden and bringing his wonderful skill as a retreat preacher and spiritual director.

At the 2000 Chapter several committees were formed to carry out the Chapter call to establish a “Center” for Active Nonviolence.

The Sojourner relationship, living a covenant relationship with the sisters, began in 2003.

Enrolling thirteen male students, the college became coeducational in 1967. It was sold to Bridgepoint Education in 2005 and became Ashford University.