Sister M. Anthony Worrell beams after taking final vows at St. Alphonsus Church in Davenport in 2016. She is joined by then-Father Thom Hennen and Fathers Scott Lemaster, Paul Appel and Guillermo Trevino.
By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — Sister M. Anthony Worrell, OSF, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the Divine Teacher, works hard educating students at Assumption Catholic High School in Davenport in the tenants of the faith, but she also isn’t afraid to take a break for some ice cream once in a while.
In time for both Catholic Schools Week 2026 and the Church’s celebration of the World Day of Consecrated Life, which occurred Feb. 2, the religious sister reflected on her vocation during her appearance on the latest Catholic Messenger Conversations Podcast.
“Our order … was founded back in 1981,” she explained. “We started from a group of sisters who broke off from other orders because of the different directions they were going and they wanted to retain some of the more traditional values of religious life. So they ended up settling here in Davenport and we are currently located in the West End down off of Boies Avenue right across the street from St. Alphonsus Church, which most people know because of the beloved fish fries.”
Sister M. Anthony is involved in parish and school life each day. She has been a presence in her community since 2008.
“I took final vows in 2016,” she recalled. “It’s just been an amazing journey for me. I grew up here in Davenport. I had no idea this order existed because they’re down in the West End and the West End has been hurting in the past few years; but before everything (they needed) was down there. They had a grocery store, the bank was down there; the school that was attached to St. Alphonsus. And so the sisters didn’t really have to travel very far to live their Apostolate. And so even though I lived in Davenport my entire life that they were here, I never saw them … but when I realized I had the vocation, I went to my priest and they were the first people that he sent me to, which is really kind of amazing because I had no idea what I was doing. But I ended up down there and it’s just been amazing ever since.”
With Pope Leo XIV having recently declared a jubilee year to mark the 800th anniversary of St. Francis death, Sister M. Anthony, who took vows of poverty and chastity as part of her vocation, also talked about the spiritual roots of her order.
“I grew up Catholic nominally and so I’d heard of St. Francis, heard of St. Dominic,” she said. “I kind of knew what religious were, but I had no idea what a charism was, and so when they talked about the Franciscan charism at the beginning, I kind of fell into the trap that many of us do … We see St. Francis as the garden gnome saint surrounded by deer and birds.”
Sister M. Anthony realized the depth of the Franciscan way of life over time.
“I got to the community and began to read (about) the life of St. Francis and studied the documents, the things that he wrote,” she said. “I was just absolutely astounded that this humble little man was so brilliant and insightful about the incarnation of God. That’s the Franciscan spirituality and charism… that we love that God became man; that he became visible; that we can see him.” It’s what St. Francis wanted to do for everyone, she added. “It’s one of the reasons that led him to begin the live nativity, so that people could see what the birth of Christ actually looked like. Once I found that out, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Lord, you know exactly what would please my heart in this charism.’”
The Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Francis will feature special events throughout 2026.
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