The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration founded Viterbo University and staffed Aquinas High School in La Crosse.

The six women of the group, led by Mother Aemiliana Dirr, began their mission to care for the region's German immigrants, both physically and spiritually.

[2] In 1856, the sisters were reassigned to the newly established Saint Francis de Sales Seminary to perform household duties.

Frustrated by the menial and spiritually lacking work they had been assigned at the seminary, many sisters left the diocese in 1860.

At the request of the Bishop of La Crosse, Michael Heiss, the motherhouse was again relocated in 1871, establishing the St. Rose of Viterbo Convent.

Mother Antonia's community in La Crosse thus became known as the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

"[7] The practice officially ended on Ash Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at which point perpetual prayer had been maintained without interruption for 141 years.

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have their retirement home in St. Joseph's Ridge, Wisconsin.