In 1860, Mother Theresa died at the age of 33.  She was succeeded by Mother Antonia Dreer, who had been overseeing all education of the sisters and the operation of the schools. Mother Michaela Lindemann, who had been in charge of the farm, was elected to leadership in 1872. By the time of her death in 1884, there were 234 sisters who had founded or staffed 54 schools located in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa and Missouri. 

Although the congregation had many contacts with Cincinnati, the sisters did not have any schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati until the late 1870s. Archbishop John Baptist Purcell, who had been a longtime friend of the congregation, paid several visits to the Oldenburg motherhouse. Mother Michaela’s acceptance of St. Clement School in St. Bernard, Ohio, in 1876, appears to have been a result of the friendly relations that already existed with Archbishop Purcell. St. Clement Parish was 25 years old when the sisters came to St. Bernard. The school had been organized shortly after the opening of the church in 1851, with classes conducted by the pastor and then by the Franciscan Brothers. In 1877, after a new school had been erected, the sisters were asked to take over the work. Other schools were soon accepted in Ohio at Carthage (1880), Middletown (1880) and Fairmount (1882).  

While the sisters’ primary ministry was classroom teaching, there were always sisters who were needed in supportive ministries, such as farm work, cooking and housekeeping. Many sisters also were organists, choir directors, music teachers and did sacristy work. Early on, the sisters began caring for orphans and working in the administration of schools and the congregation. Social work in an educational setting and with families and adults was another early ministry. There have always been some sisters in health care, providing for the members of the community

After the Second Vatican Council, increasing numbers of sisters began serving as directors of religious education, parish life coordinators, pastoral associates, liturgical ministers and youth ministers. In the medical field, sisters have ministered as nurses, nursing assistants, hospital chaplains and massage therapists. Within the social service sector, sisters have worked in orphanages, nursing homes, hospitals, halfway houses, prisons, pro-life programs, domestic abuse programs, drug and alcohol treatment centers, child welfare agencies, foster care and adoption programs and mental health counseling.

Sisters have served as career specialists, funeral home assistants, photographers, artists, facilitators for religious communities, justice and peace directors and staff members of social justice organizations. They have been librarians, reading and media specialists, nursery and adult caregivers, nannies, educational consultants, receptionists, communications directors, seamstresses, chemists and spiritual and retreat directors. 

The Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg, continue to respond to the diverse needs of the times.