Postulant Receives Insignia of St. Francis

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Postulant, Jennifer Bourque, from the Diocese of Portland, Maine, received the Insignia of St. Francis of Assisi on Sunday, September 3, 2023. The insignia, the tau with the hand of Jesus covering that of Francis, is a reminder of Jennifer’s call to follow Christ with us and is a symbol of her Postulancy.  The ceremony was held in St. Mary Chapel in our Motherhouse in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Sister Natalie Binversie, after presenting the Insignia read this Exhortation taken from the Letter to the Ephesians and Chapter 24 from the Earlier Rule of St. Francis:

“Live life then with a sense of responsibility not as a person who does not know the meaning and purpose of life, but as one who does. With Francis I ask that you learn and frequently call to mind the tenor and sense of what has been written in this life for the salvation of our souls, I beg God, Who is All-powerful, Three and One, to bless all who teach, learn, retain, remember and put into practice these things each time they repeat and do what has been written there for the salvation of our souls.

I implore everyone to love, keep, and treasure them greatly. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and will be forever. Amen.”

Sister Natalie also read these words from the Life of St. Francis by Thomas of Celano:

Among them there was no envy, no malice, no rancor, no mocking, no suspicion, no bitterness. Instead, there was great harmony, constant calm, thanksgiving and songs of praise. These are the lessons by which the devoted father instructed his new sons and daughters, not so much in words and speech but in deed and truth.

Let us pray that we may be true to this example in our daily lives. We ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Watch for a coming blog post from Jennifer in which she shares more about herself and her call to be a Franciscan Postulant.