She has been active in the Nuns on the Bus movement, and came to the attention of mainstream media because of her daily practice of tweeting a prayer to US President Donald Trump.
Her father Francis Francois was a local politician in Bowie, Maryland focused on a mix of social and transportation planning issues, and her mother Eileen Schmelzer was a social worker supporting the local population of prisoners and their families.
[4] She was raised in Bowie and attended primary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Washington, graduating from DeMatha Catholic High School, before attending Lewis & Clark College in Portland Oregon, graduating in 1994.
[5] She worked for the city of Portland for 11 years before then joining the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace in 2006.
[5] She is the grand niece of Sister Rose Francois, FSPA, a prominent 19th Century American nun.