Institutional Heritage

The heritage of Alvernia College and its foundational Franciscan values can be traced to the growth of three religious orders who owe their origin to the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi – the Friars Minor, the Poor Clares, and the “Third Order” which has two distinct branches: a secular order for the laity, and a regular order for women and men living an evangelical life with religious vows.  The Bernardine Franciscan sisters, founders and sponsors of Alvernia College, are members of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.

In the thirteenth century, the growth of the Franciscan Order was enriched by a desire for learning among the first friars and early Franciscan scholars, including the earliest Franciscan theologian, St. Anthony of Padua, followed by St. Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns Scotus, long associated with the great medieval universities of Paris and Oxford. They easily recognized the need to provide sound training in philosophy and theology for the growing members of the rapidly expanding Order; from this awareness developed the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, founded on the spirituality and vision of Francis and Clare of Assisi.  A distinguishing trait of this tradition, making it singularly different from other great western religious traditions is the intellectual view described by saint and scholar Bonaventure as “knowledge joined with love”.  Franciscan education recognizes the importance of love complementing understanding and learning, and the primacy of works-oriented active love that gives the intellectual life a practical context for implementation. 

Alvernia College reflects the visionary leadership and uncommon perseverance of its founding president, Sister Mary Zygmunta Froncek, and the dedicated religious and lay faculty who laid the groundwork for academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and learning linked with charity, service and social justice.  As pioneers in the field of Catholic education, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters were part of the 20th century movement in the Catholic Church to serve the poor and immigrant populations in America by founding and staffing schools, colleges and hospitals throughout the U.S.  Their inclusive embrace positioned the congregation to serve beyond the needs of the Polish settlements, anticipating Alvernia’s present-day outreach to the growing Latino community in Reading.  On the campus of Mount Alvernia, the sisters opened an orphanage and a high school housed in Francis Hall.  As the Order grew larger and the education of its members became a priority, the congregation founded a liberal arts college for women religious 1958, graduating its first class of 4 sisters in 1961, and with the increase in lay enrollment and expansion of academic offerings, received final accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in November 1967.

Within a few decades, paralleling the history of the early Franciscan movement in Italy, the college grew beyond the original three educational buildings to an expanding campus with additional professional programs to complement a strong liberal arts core.  Alvernia’s founding mission provided the opportunity to develop new programs such as nursing, business, allied health, criminal justice and social work.  This distinctive service niche afforded the college regional recognition for liberal learning and practical application, and has provided the impetus for continued dynamic growth.  Since 1990, a library, physical education center, student center, science center and additional residence halls have been added to the main campus facilities to support the long-range commitment to building a strong residential learning community. At the same time, educational outreach to adult learners has expanded, including the launch of satellite campuses in Philadelphia and Pottsville, and a Seniors’ College which provides life-long learning opportunities to retired citizens in Berks County.

Today, Alvernia calls together students diverse in age, background, belief, and educational interests to pursue academic excellence in a range of undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs, including a new interdisciplinary PhD program with concentrations in Corporate, Community and Educational Leadership. Across all programs, the hallmark of an Alvernia education is a conception of learning as grounded in values, connecting classroom and community, and linked to leadership and service. With the purchase of the Upland Center in 2006, Alvernia strengthened its commitment to lifelong learning and community outreach by creating a new home for graduate and continuing education, and launched two new initiatives: a Center of Ethics and a Center for Community Engagement, helping to incorporate the broader community into the curriculum of higher education. 

Rooted in the liberal arts tradition of rigorous, open inquiry, Alvernia is faithful to its Catholic identity and the vision of Pope John Paul II as expressed in Ex Corde Ecclesiae.  The university (or college) “possesses [necessary] institutional autonomy . . .  and guarantees its members academic freedom,” while the mission of Catholic higher education privileges “(a) the search for an integration of knowledge, (b) a dialogue between faith and reason, (c) an ethical concern, and (d) a theological perspective.” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, I, A, 12 and 15).  Alvernia is also proud of its role as an educational resource for members of the Allentown Diocese and its active involvement in the national associations of both Catholic and Franciscan colleges and universities.

True to its Franciscan heritage and mission motto: To Learn, To Love, To Serve, Alvernia’s Franciscan values have shaped its character and history since its founding.
Service, humility, collegiality, contemplation and peacemaking are institutional core values woven through the academic, co-curricular, and spiritual culture of Alvernia.
Francis of Assisi, an agent of spiritual change in the Middle Ages, gave to the three Franciscan Orders and all humanity a legacy that is timeless and universal.  To be Franciscan is to respect the dignity of each human person and all creation; to be open to the world and its diversity of cultures, faiths, traditions, races, and peoples; to honor right relationships; and to seek peace through action for justice.  Although a young institution, Alvernia anticipates its 50th Anniversary in 2008 with great enthusiasm, embracing a rich and vibrant Franciscan heritage that is truly relevant today, rich with promise for tomorrow, and welcoming to all.

Franciscan Web Pages

Bernardine Franciscan Sisters
Franciscan Archive
Franciscan Federation
Franciscans International
Order of Friars Minor

Updated: March 21, 2007

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