Summary: Departing from diverse landmarks delineating the concept of "modernity", the article seeks to grasp some of the traits characteristic of new forms of religious life in the second half of the nineteenth century. A first attempt to understand the “culture of modernity” is produced through various examples provided by the Franciscan Order. The argument then moves to testimonies emanating from the feminine religious world, especially Franciscan women. The reflection continues by confronting a “case study”: the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart. This case provisionally sketches, in its American settlement and development, some aspects of research that could help further an understanding of the already mentioned concept of “modernity”, and to grasp some of the modes of its effective and consequential translation.