Following a presentation from Principal Duane Siepker, students presented Hacker with a spiritual bouquet filled with prayers and congratulatory cards. With a smile on her face, Hacker offered thanks to both students and staff.
"I want you to know that it's because of you and your prayers that I am able to minister with you, to be with you, and your prayers also help us as a community as the School Sisters of St. Francis continues to minister and to be with people - so thank you so much," Hacker said.
Hacker, who is a native of Pratt, Kan., earned a bachelor's degree from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan. She went on to receive a master's degree in science from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan., as well as a master's degree in ministry from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
During her time as a sister, Hacker has been a high school teacher at Archbishop Ryan High School in Omaha; a research technician at the University of Mississippi and University of Nebraska Medical Center; a pastoral minister in the Diocese of Sioux City at Sacred Heart Parish in Spencer, the Diocese of Dodge City, Kan. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, as well as the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph at St. Gregory Parish in Maryville, Mo.
Hacker returned to the Diocese of Sioux City in 2005 to minister at Sacred Heart Parish in Boone to serve as director of liturgy and a pastoral minister.
During her four years at Sacred Heart, Hacker said what she enjoys are the people, because they are what matter most.
"The parishioners, the people in Boone, they're just great," she said.
Hacker said receiving the honor from the Sacred Heart family was a very joyous experience.
"I'm overwhelmed," she said. "I feel very humbled and very much complimented."
The Franciscan order that Hacker has been a member of for the past 28 years began to originate in 1873, when three young women believed they were called by God to found the religious order that would care for people in need.
The three women - Emma Franziska "Mother Alexia" Hoell, Paulina "Mother Alfons" Schmid and Helena "Sister Clara" Seiter - left an orphanage in Schwarzach, Germany where they were ministering and set sail for the United States. After they arrived, the group settled in New Cassel, Wis., which is today known as Campbellsport, Wis.
The three women had a dream of establishing a large community that could assist immigrants and meet the needs of the church and on April 28, 1874, the School Sisters of St. Francis community was founded.
It was not long before other sisters began ministering in parish schools to answer to the call of the church in the U.S. By 1887, sisters staffed schools in five different states, with St. Joseph Convent in Milwaukee becoming the motherhouse. St. Joseph's Normal School, which was the precursor of Alverno College, was established within the motherhouse to educate sisters.
In 1893, health services were incorporated into the ministry with the opening of the Sacred Heart Sanitarium. The sanitarium was the first of its kind in Milwaukee, gaining popularity throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Battling through both financial and political difficulties, Mother Alexia returned to Europe in 1895. The school sister emphasis in the U.S. was on parish school education. After determining the needs of people in Europe through a series of surveys, Mother Alexia devoted her community energies to a wide array of capacities, ministering in sanitariums, kindergartens, orphanages, homes for troubled youth and homes for young women who were seeking higher education. Additionally, sisters also conducted pastoral work and cared for sick and elderly people.
Sisters in Europe primarily served in Germany and Switzerland. In 1907, Pope Pius X granted provincial status to the order after Mother Alexia petitioned Rome with her request. The congregation continued to grow and combated a number of challenges and, after conquering many hardships, one of Mother Alexia's favorite quotes became, "Impossible is a word I do not know."
Mother Alexia resigned from her position as Mother General, after creating and guiding the community of sisters from 1874 to 1907, to become the Superior of the European Province until her death in 1918.
Co-foundress Mother Alfons Schmid assumed the position of Mother General in 1908 and the religious order continued to prosper in America. With a love for the arts, the community has had a longstanding tradition in music and art. School Sisters of St. Francis have been distinguished as artists, composers, music educators and parish musicians and have provided leadership through liturgical music throughout the U.S. Mother Alfons' devotion to the arts shaped a tradition that continues today and her dream of building a chapel came full circle in 1917 with the dedication of the St. Joseph Convent.
Under the leadership of Mother Alfons, the religious order opened a number of institutions in the Midwest and maintained a commitment to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ in the facets of education, health care, social work and pastoral ministry.
After Mother Alfons' death in 1929, other leaders of the congregation followed in the footsteps of the foundresses as the Franciscan order's outreach began to grow globally. In the following decades after Mother Alfons' death, the School Sisters of St. Francis developed a school in China, two missions in India, several hospitals in Germany and an orphanage in Honduras. In addition, the presence of the order in the U.S. began to grow with both the Alverno College of Liberal Arts and Sacred Heart School of Practical Nursing in Milwaukee; a hospital in Waupun, Wis.; St. Joseph High School in Kenosha, Wis.; Ryan High School in Omaha and service in multicultural parishes and neighborhoods.
The Franciscan order began to grow in Latin America, as a province developed with missions in Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Mexico. The province, known as the Union of Latin American Franciscans, placed an emphasis on pastoral work, education, health care, ministry to Latin Americans and service in a Guatemalan orphanage that the sisters founded.
In the 1960s, The Second Vatican Council mandated religious congregations in an attempt to renew the charisma of the order's founders. In response, new lifestyles and ministries began to reflect a more modern understanding of Gospel life and service. A variety of ministries formed to assist with needs in pastoral outreach, social justice, education and health care. Sisters became aware of their roots in the Franciscan values of non-violence, mutuality, hospitality and in a spirituality that aims to balance activity and prayer.
In 1972, the order created an Associate Relationship, which is comprised of men and women of various ages from different cultures and denominations to join in a common commitment to the Gospel and the mission of the church. Today, there are more than 130 associates in the School Sisters of St. Francis' provinces.
Several provinces combined into one United States Province in 1980. Health care and educational institutions then became part of the new Institutional Sponsorship Services. Today, the Franciscan order aims to unite with others to build a just and peaceful world serving in ten countries and the five membership provinces includes more than 1,050 sisters.
As one of the 1,050 sisters of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Hacker serves on several committees, including the International Government Committee which reviews the order's Constitutions and Rule of Life, known as Response in Faith.
In addition, she will serve as a delegate to the General Assembly, which will be held in 2010 in Milwaukee. The General Assembly is comprised of delegates from all of the world's provinces, which includes two in India, and one each in Europe, Latin America and the U.S. The assembly meets for approximately two-and-a-half weeks to set the direction for the next four years and to elect leadership positions as well.
In the U.S. Province, Hacker serves on the Provincial Assembly, which is also legislative assembly. This summer she will be involved with the International Community Experience which unites sisters from around the globe.
"Three sisters from each of the five provinces come together for a month at our motherhouse in Milwaukee to get to know each other because we're spread out all over the world," Hacker said. "We share our stories, we share the story of our province and it's also a learning situation."
Being a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis for the past 28 years, Hacker reflected on a quote from Mother Alexia which states, "The needs of the times are the will of God" and said that she enjoys being part of the worldwide effort of giving, healing and defending life in all of its forms.
"I'm a part of something larger than me and it spans worldwide," she said. "It's hard to put in words, but it's that sense of purpose that goes beyond me personally...beyond parish, beyond city, beyond state - it's worldwide."
|
|
