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Since their founding in 1916, the Sisters of St. Francis in Sylvania have powerfully impacted our community. Today, they still have a profound effect through their ministries, including Bethany House.
The story of Bethany House began with a chance encounter between Sr. Rose Therese Lange and a mother of four who had recently left an emergency shelter.
Despondent about her circumstances, the woman’s counselor sent her to a women’s meeting. “Bernie Skeldon, Teddy Wilson…we were all in this meeting together, and Sr. Rose Therese was there,” she recounted in the 2017 Bread and Roses film.
Sr. Rose wanted to find a project, something that would really make a difference. The woman said that there was a need for a long-term shelter, “someplace where [she] could have stayed” to get on her feet, get a job and get ready to rebuild her life.
Sr. Rose grabbed ahold of the idea and Bethany House was born. When the doors opened, the woman with the big idea, Barb Fern, and her children were welcomed as the first residents.
Sr. Rose wasn’t a trained social worker or a lawyer, so she relied on her instincts and convent experience to run the house. She also had a network of Sisters in service.
“When Sr. Rose Therese got involved with a ministry or a project, everybody got involved,” said Sr. Mary Jon Wagner, OSF. “She came to the Sisters and said ‘I need your help!’”
There was much to help with, too, including watching the children, fundraising and putting food on the table. The Sisters gave of their time and talent to make Bethany House a real ministry.
It was never an easy road. The women at Bethany House “couldn’t imagine that a nun would have anything to teach them,” said Veronica Murphy, a local attorney and long-time Bethany House volunteer. After all, what could a nun know about married life, living with a man you love, or being abused that way? At the end of the day, though, none of that mattered, said Veronica. Sr. Rose “was a living example of empowerment and supporting them to find their own strength.”
Sr. Rose, who passed away in 2005, said “to me, it’s a deeply Franciscan service – meeting the needs of the outcasts, minores, who happen to be helpless women and children.”
After 25 years and two old convents-turned-shelters, Bethany House received financial support from the Sisters of St. Francis Healthcare System that enabled the organization to purchase an apartment building in 2009.
This new environment provided more privacy and greater independence for residents and expanded the number of survivors Bethany House could serve, including male survivors and boys over the age of 13, which most shelters at the time would not accommodate.
Today, the Sisters provide guidance in mission and vision, lending their hands to lift survivors to safety, break the cycle of abuse, and build futures of fullness.
Sponsored Ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio
Member of the Sylvania Franciscan Ministries