About Our Sponsors

Making a Significant Difference

Our health system is a nonprofit, Catholic organization sponsored by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady.

Catholic communities of Sisters devoted to caring for the sick were instrumental in developing the hospital system in America. One or more hospitals in every major city in the U.S. can trace its heritage to the efforts of Catholic Sisters.

Our health system’s story began more than 110 years ago when the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Sisters traveled from Europe and established Louisiana as their new home. They immediately began caring for the sick and needy and, two years later opened St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. This was the first of many Franciscan Missionaries’ hospitals founded under their leadership.

Our Franciscan Sisters were unquestionably pioneers—women, at the helm of healthcare. They paved the way for future generations. Today, their initial goal of opening one hospital has grown into what is now the region’s most esteemed Catholic health system led by the Franciscan Sisters, and recently the addition of the Dominican Sisters.

Today, the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady remains strongly committed to its ministry of health and spiritual wholeness, serving all of God's people through their ministry of healthcare. The Sisters remain actively involved in the daily work of our health system, extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.

To read more about the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, please visit their website at fmolsisters.com.