Felician Sisters in Enfield Have a Lot to Celebrate in 2025

Felician Sisters in Enfield Have a Lot to Celebrate in 2025

Story by Shelley Wolf

This year has been a year of significant anniversaries for the Felician Sisters in Enfield, as they joined with their fellow sisters across the continent in marking notable anniversaries.

On May 17, 2025, local women religious celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Felician Sisters in North America (1874-2024). On that day, the sisters in the archdiocese welcomed Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne, who celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving in the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Enfield.

The Mass, which was attended by numerous sisters, volunteers and invited guests, was followed by a reception. The event evoked fond memories of the sisters as teachers, and there was at least one request for the archbishop’s homily.

“When the archbishop talked about our history, you felt 10-feet taller because you were a part of this,” says Sister Patricia (“Patty”) Marie Iagrosso, who moved to Enfield from the Bronx as an aspirant after the eighth grade. “I’ve been here for over 60 years and have seen the ups and downs and the overs.”

The Felician Sisters, who formed their community in Enfield in 1932, were primarily known for education, operating several schools. The Enfield Montessori School sits on their campus today. “Our Montessori School is still flourishing,” says Sister Patty, who chose a different path for herself and continues to work as a resident care nurse at nearby St. Joseph Residence.

This year, the Felician Sisters also joined with their peers across the continent in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of their foundress, Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska (born May 16, 1825 and died Oct. 10, 1899).

The sisters in Enfield celebrated with a festive Mass. To symbolize enduring service, they planted a dogwood tree in front of their convent.

At its feet is a commemorative plaque honoring their foundress and the many employees who serve them at Our Lady of the Angels Convent and in their private care center for fellow sisters and Franciscan priests and brothers.

Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska founded the order of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice (the Felicians) in Poland in 1855. As someone who began as a lay Franciscan, she was committed to working with the poor and launched the Felicians as a branch of the Franciscans.

With the goal “to serve where needed,” she blessed five sisters, who left Poland in 1874, bound for North America, where the sisters made their mark in teaching and in social service. “Mother Mary Angela was a dynamic woman. She was ahead of her time, looking to the future,” Sister Patty says. “Mother’s vision was for ‘contemplative-active service.’”

Blessed Mary Angela, who died in 1899, is on the path to sainthood. A miraculous healing was attributed to her intervention and approved by the Vatican in 1984. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993. She needs one more miracle to be approved in order to be canonized as a saint.

Today, a tapestry depicting Blessed Mary Angela hangs in the sanctuary of the chapel at Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Enfield. It is the same tapestry that was present at her beatification in Rome.

A free booklet telling the story of her life, On Earth as in Heaven, published by the Felicians, can be downloaded at felician.org/about/mary-angela-truszkowska/.