This congregation, known formally as the Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, with its motherhouse in Rochester, Minnesota, was founded in 1877 by Mother Mary Alfred Moes, after her expulsion from the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate in Joliet by the local bishop. Intending to establish a school in Rochester, after the devastation of the city by a tornado, her new congregation built St. Mary's Hospital. It is now part of the Mayo Clinic, which grew out of her work. They also served in schools throughout Minnesota and established the College of St. Teresa in Winona. The Franciscan Sisters of Rochester have served in over fifteen states from the Midwest to California, as well as in Sierra Leone, Colombia, and Cambodia.