Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, a community of women devoted to Christ, will soon establish a new home in Milwaukee in a former Dominican convent just north of the Archdiocesan Marian Shrine.
“It is my great joy to announce that I have invited the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus to send sisters to serve in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.” Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob said. “We joyfully welcome them, and I look forward to the many ways in which these sisters will be a blessing to our archdiocese.”
The Handmaids’ mission is to “live in imitation of Mary by serving as spiritual mothers in the diocesan Church.” As diocesan sisters, they bring a feminine consecrated presence to the parish family in complement to the diocesan priesthood.
Since their establishment in 2010, the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus have grown from four to 41 sisters. The habited sisters are based in New Ulm, Minnesota, and are established as a Public Association of the Lay Faithful with the intention of becoming a Religious Institute of Diocesan Right.
“Our hope is to be established as a religious community in a few years,” said Mother Mary Clare, A.C.J., foundress and general superior of the Handmaids. “Some of the benchmarks are to have 40 members with over 20 in perpetual vows. We have 41 members, of whom 16 are in perpetual vows. We are well on our way.”
In recent months, the sisters became aware of the former convent of the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary, located at 217 N. 68th St., Milwaukee. The Dominicans lived and prayed in the 30,000-square-foot convent from 1926 to 2017, when it was sold. New plans for the property never materialized and it was on the market again in December. Private donors generously offered to finance the purchase, while the Handmaids plan to fundraise over the next year to pay for approximately $5.5 million in necessary renovations.
“The property is amazing and the building’s bones are great,” said Mother Mary Clare. “We need to replace the roof, the 75-year-old boilers, windows, flooring and lighting. The building also lacks air-conditioning, and we need to address that.”
The Handmaids anticipate sending four sisters to this, their fifth house, by the fall of 2027.
A close connection to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is Sr. Ancilla Joy, A.C.J. (Anne LoCoco), the daughter of Francis and Lydia LoCoco and the sister of diocesan priest Fr. John LoCoco, pastor of St. John Vianney, Brookfield, and judicial vicar for the archdiocese.
“Sister Ancilla Joy is very interested in moving to the Milwaukee house to be near her family,” Mother Mary Clare said. “I am confident we will grow into this new house. We have many opportunities, such as offering free weekend women’s retreats.”
“We ask for your prayers for this new house, that it might truly give great glory and honor to God,” said Mother Mary Clare. “The Lord has been so good in the ways he has already provided for us, and we eagerly await sharing his goodness and love with all the faithful in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.”
Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, a Minnesota-based religious community of women, was established 16 years ago in New Ulm, Minnesota. (Submitted photo)
