Rose had seemingly married well as a young woman, and they moved from her native Massachusetts to New York City and then to Connecticut after their marriage.

In 1901 she established a nursing home in a small hamlet of Westchester County, some twenty miles north of New York City.

[3] Mother Mary Alphonsa lived at Rosary Hill for the rest of her life and rarely left, even declining an invitation from Harriett Lothrop to participate in a centennial celebration for her father at their former home The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts.

[4] The Sisters took a strict daily routine under Mother Mary Alphonsa, rising for prayers in the chapel at 4:30 in the morning before breakfast, then care for the sick and perform tasks like milking cows.

In 1930 the sisters opened the thirty-five bed skilled nursing facility, Sacred Heart Home in Philadelphia.

In 2009, the Sisters turned over operation of the home to the Franciscan Health Community, who continue to provide free care to those in need at end-of-life.

[8] The order continues to refuse any payment from the patients or their families or from government funds from either Social Security or Medicare, nor do they accept money from private insurance.