Followers of St. Francis

By Janice Lane Palko

Drawn to Timeless Franciscan Values

Throughout history there have been men and women who, from birth, have been singled out for a life of serA CHOICE TO MAKE Although it seemed she was destined for a life with the vice and devotion to God. Such was the case with John the Sylvania Franciscans, Sister Sharon, like those others before Baptist, the prophet Samuel, and our Blessed Mother with her, had to consciously choose to follow God’s will for her. “I her Immaculate Conception. Although much too mod- knew I couldn’t rely on others’ expectations of me; I had to est to include herself among such company, freely commit to my vocation,” she says. Sister Sharon Havelak, OSF, a member of the Aspiring to become a Sister of St. Francis, Sylvania Franciscans (Sylvania, Ohio), shares she briefly attended St. Clare Academy in a similar life experience. Sylvania, Ohio. She later returned to Sylvania

Sister Sharon, who is 74, was born pre- and professed her final vows in 1973. “Early in maturely in Northeast Minneapolis. “My my novitiate after Vatican II, things were very aunt, Sister Marie Paul, a Sylvania Franciscan, unsettled with many leaving the convent, and decided that, if I survived, I would eventually I had to evaluate what I wanted to do,” says join her in the convent,” says Sister Sharon, Sister Sharon. “Through prayer and much who was born the second oldest of five soul-searching, I realized that I would take children in a devoutly Catholic family. Her me, with my strengths and weaknesses, wheraunt’s proclamation stuck with her. “I was the ever I went, and life outside of the convent one deemed for a vocation and the one who would be just as complicated, and so I chose received a nun doll as a present for her first to honor my commitment.” Communion,” she says with a laugh. From 1968 to 1977, she taught grade

Joining the sisters was always in the back of school, then became a member of Trinity Sister Sharon’s mind, but her vocation began House of Prayer. After working various odd to take shape when she was in the sixth grade. She attended jobs, “I started teaching art part-time and then went back to Immaculate Conception School where Sylvania Franciscan college to get a master’s degree in art from Bowling Green Sisters were her teachers. “Sister Mary Ann, the vocation State University,” she says. “For a time, I taught studio art and minister, traveled to Minneapolis to talk to our class about art history at the university level.” joining the sisters. I don’t remember much of what she said, but I do remember her showing us slides of the motherhouse PUTTING CREATIVITY TO USE grounds with all these beautiful pine trees and thinking, In 2000, Sister Sharon was elected to the congregation’s That’s my home! That feeling remained with me.” leadership, serving for the next eight years. Since then, she

Sister Sharon Havelak, OSF

Every Monday and Wednesday, a group of sisters (Sister Sharon Havelak is third from the left) and local activists gather on the corner of Sylvania Franciscan Motherhouse property to support antidiscrimination efforts. Since the death of George Floyd in 2020, they gather every week, rain or shine.

(Above) The All Good Things Art and Gifts Shop offers a variety of handmade and fair-trade goods. Sister Sharon (left) works in her studio, pinning a scarf to the printing table and readying it for another layer of color.

has devoted her time to being the congregation’s justice and peace coordinator and working in the Sylvania Franciscan Sisters’ gift shop, All Good Th ings.

“We had sisters selling their products and craft s from their offi ces, and in 2009, we decided to convert the former mailroom in the convent to a gift shop that not only features things made by the sisters but also from people around the world, by selling fair-trade items,” says Sister Sharon.

Some of the shop’s most popular items are the sisters’ Holy Aromas line of body washes, soaps, and lotions, and their handcraft ed Alverno Tiles featuring Franciscan themes. Sister Sharon also provides some of her creations. “I was a print major when I earned my degree, and I dye and hand-paint scarves,” she says, adding that the shop appeals to customers not only because they receive handcraft ed, quality pieces but also because it helps to support the sisters’ mission.

In addition to her work in the All Good Th ings gift shop, she gives talks on justice and peace, spirituality, and the environment.

Th e Franciscan charism that speaks most to her is poverty. “Poverty allows you to live simply, and that is so freeing,” says Sister Sharon. “St. Francis is such a role model and is so important to our world today. Th e charisms that his life exemplifi ed (poverty, contemplation, conversion, and minority) speak to me diff erently as I grow and change; diff erent aspects impact me today than when I was 19 and just entering religious life. But that is the beauty of the Franciscan values, and why they are so precious; they are timeless and keep drawing us closer to God.” For more information, visit AllGoodTh ingsosf.org.

ST. ANTHONY BREAD

The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation.

The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below.

Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week.

viSit our webSite to:

StAnthony.org

mAil poStAl communicAtionS to: St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498