In the years after the foundation, the Congregation grew and prospered. After the death of Pastor van Miert on June 2, 1870, Mother Teresia was directly at the helm of the Congregation. She took charge of its administration and the spiritual needs of the Sisters. As they increased in number, they likewise spread their presence and services to other towns and cities of the Netherlands. They became actively involved in parishes and gave particular interest to education as it was the need of the time. Schools were established for orphans and the handicapped, for religious education and practical training of the youth. Their communities helped in seeking employment for the tramps and beggars. They extended their nursing care to the sick and to the elderly. As they went about in their various ministries, the Sisters' way of life was marked by obedience and humility, simplicity and joy, love and self-giving, grounded on deep faith and trust in God. They believed that the strength of the Congregation rested upon solid virtue.

Thus it was with the same faith and trust in God that the Franciscan Sisters of Veghel responded to the call to foreign mission. On October 13, 1906, the first group of missionaries left their homeland and sailed to West Borneo with a group of Capuchin Fathers. Responding to the invitation of Msgr. Constant Jurgens, a Dutch missionary in the Philippines, five Sisters gladly accepted their mission and left for the Philippines on February 5, 1929. Both missions eventually grew into independent provinces. A General Board was chosen on November 30, 1985 to oversee the general administration of the whole Congregation.

Although a mission began in Tanzania, East Africa in 1962, their stay ended in 1975. The Kenya Mission was established on January 22, 1994 as a collaborative effort of the three provinces of Netherlands, Indonesia and the Philippines in a shared response to global concerns.

On April 17, 2000, an International Community composed of three Sisters - a Dutch, an Indonesian and a Filipina, was established in s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Given the international character of our Congregation, this community is a new form of SFIC presence in the Netherlands, as they strive to be witnesses of God's compassionate love to the poor of our times.

The International Community was discontinued in 2005. On July 10, 2000, the Indonesian Province started a community in Sulawesi Island. The Philippine Province started a community in Kamloops, Canada, on September 12, 2008.  The declaration of the Philippine South Province was on April 30, 2010.