the Sisters opened and staffed St. Francis Hospital (1865-1966), St. Joseph Hospital for Chest Diseases (1888-1962) and the Frances Schervier Home and Hospital, all located in the Borough of the Bronx. The sisters, at the invitation of the Bishop of Covington and lay benefactors, opened St. Elizabeth Hospital in Covington, KY (1861). St. Elizabeth Hospital currently has six locations, and is one of the largest employers of the Northern Kentucky metro area. Mother Frances visited the United States in 1863, and helped her Sisters nurse soldiers wounded in the American Civil War. St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken, N.J. was founded for this work. She visited the United States one more time in 1868, and attended the dedication of the new location for St. Elizabeth Hospital in Covington, KY. When Mother Frances died in 1876, there were 2,500 members of the congregation worldwide. A new congregation Because the number of houses, in America, as well as elsewhere, grew rapidly, certain difficulties arose in the field of government and mutual concord. During the period of the World Wars, when the houses abroad were for so long a time cut off from the Motherhouse in Germany, these problems became more acute. In 1959 the American branch was separated from the Poor Sisters of St. Francis to form the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. The number kept growing until the 1970s, when, like many other religious orders, they began to experience a sharp decline in membership. In response to the request of both the European and American Congregations, and the research they provided regarding her life to the Holy See, Mother Frances was beatified in 1974 by Pope Paul VI. Since the 1990s, the Congregation has transferred the ownership of many of their institutions to other organizations, and at present focuses on health care, pastoral ministry and social services. The Sisters operate daycare centers and schools, shelters, soup kitchens, healthcare clinics and maternity programs and a senior residence facility. Currently, the Congregation has communities of Sisters serving in the United States, Brazil, Italy and Senegal. See also Poor Sisters of St. Francis References Sources A History of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor External links Catholic female orders and societies Congregations of Franciscan sisters Catholic nursing orders Catholic religious institutes established in the 20th century