Lourdes University is an independent, Roman Catholic and Franciscan university located on 113 acres (0.46 km2) in suburban Sylvania, Ohio, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Toledo. In 1916 Mother Adelaide Sandusky traveled from Minnesota to northwest Ohio to establish a province of the Rochester Franciscans that eventually became the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania. For nearly 50 years, she cultivated the Sylvania Franciscan community establishing thriving ministries including the Catholic and Franciscan institution known today as Lourdes University.