The institute was founded by Mother Ignatius Hayes in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1872. The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception were founded by Mother Mary Elizabeth Lockhart. Hayes, who was born on Guernsey, joined the Franciscan sisters at Bayswater under the direction of Cardinal Manning, before commencing her missionary work in Minnesota. In 1964, 26 Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, amalgamated with the Institute, thus uniting the two communities whose foundresses had been closely associated. In conjunction with a convent for retired sisters, they operate a residential care facility for the elderly in Essex. The Sisters also serve in the United States in the Archdioceses of New York, Newark, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Savannah. The generalate is in Rome, Italy; there are about 250 sisters worldwide.