Our Catholic Heritage

Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc. is an official ministry of the Catholic Church. This means that who we are and what we do as an organization is aligned with the moral and social teaching of the Church. While reflecting this Catholic understanding of the Gospel, we are called to a deep respect for the faith traditions of all those who work in or are served by our health care ministries.

Rooted in the Gospel of Jesus, the teachings of the Church and our Franciscan heritage, our health care ministry continues the healing ministry of Jesus. Because of this, we always seek to heal as Jesus healed. This means we embrace all aspects of what it means to be human – the physical, the emotional, the spiritual, and the relational – in our ministry.

The Catholic Church is an expression of the community of persons who are followers of Christ as presented in the Gospels and who understand themselves to be responsible for proclaiming, in both word and deed, the good news of God’s faithful and healing love for humankind throughout history. The Catholic Church shares this purpose with many other communities of faith.

The Church fulfills its responsibility through ministry. Ministry is understood to be a combination of service and witness, of service rendered and of witness to the beliefs about the nature of the human person and the world that guide this service. The Church ministers to the world through persons, communities and institutions that demonstrate God’s love for each person by:

Promoting and defending human dignity and the sacredness of life;
Acknowledging that suffering is part of the human condition, being compassionately present to those who suffer as well as seeking to address the causes of the suffering;
Communicating the hope, grace and forgiveness that comes through the life, death and resurrection of Christ;
Exercising responsible stewardship of resources and acting for the common good;
Protecting the basic rights of each person;
Taking concrete action on behalf of the poor.

As an organization, the Catholic Church has various structures including Church-sponsored institutions that provide for health and healing as well as shelter. The teachings of the Church that are related to health, shelter and social services flow from an understanding of the Gospel and are found primarily in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the social encyclicals, pastoral letters of bishops, and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.