LA CROSSE, Wisconsin— For nearly a century and a half, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have said prayers every hour of every day in their chapel in La Crosse.

But next month that practice will be coming to an end.

The sisters have announced that after a dozen years of study and reflection, they will begin to cut back their prayer ritual, which began in 1878, to 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.

In 1997, prayer partners were invited to take the daytime hours while sisters living at St. Rose Convent continued the night hours. As demographics continued changing in the early 2000s, the sisters began studying the future of the practice.

“Our thoughtful study over the years has included a growing understanding of a modern way to live in adoration through our prayer lives and actions, no matter where we are,” said FSPA President Eileen McKenzie.

The congregation name will remain Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, McKenzie said.

“Per discussions with the Vatican and review of the FSPA constitutions, the name will not change due to the longevity of the tradition and the fact that the sisters and prayer partners will continue adoration in the Adoration Chapel to the extent possible, and by definition of perpetual, repeated continuously even though interrupted for portions of time,” she said.

The sisters will continue to accept prayer requests through the FSPA website, text line or phone, according to the La Crosse Tribune.

The FSPA also announced that the domes atop Mary of the Angels Chapel and the Adoration Chapel will remain lit as a sign of the congregation’s continued prayer for the city of La Crosse and the world.

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