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They are consulting with local clergy, taking online vocation surveys, signing up for “come and see” weekends, moving into convents and monasteries for yearlong immersion experiences, and professing solemn vows.
They are professionally seasoned or just starting out; unmarried, widowed and divorced; ethnically and culturally diverse.
All over the country, women currently discerning a call to the vowed life are participating in a process of spiritual, educational and community formation that can involve considerable self-scrutiny and present challenges along the way.
“God calls women from all different walks of life, from different stages, and all sorts of women,” says Mary Gautier, senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).
A 2012 CARA survey of youth and young adults on vocations, conducted for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, found that 10 percent of never-married female respondents had considered becoming a sister at least a little seriously.
“The only consistent influence is that God is calling,” Gautier says. “You don’t have to be religious to work in a hospital or teach, but there is something special about living in community, sharing a public charism, and making a public statement about how God is working in your life.”
Recent studies by CARA (which also include men) highlight some characteristics shared by those in the U.S. pursuing a call to life in a religious community.
In a survey of the “Entrance Class of 2015,” respondents, both female and male, on average reported that they were 19 when they had first considered religious life, yet the average age of entrants was 30.
Most were born in the United States, and 71 percent identify as white, 13 percent Hispanic, 9 percent Asian, and 6 percent black.
Most had already earned a bachelor’s degree, most came from families in which both parents are Catholic and many were active volunteers in their parish. Continue reading
Sources
- An article in Global Sisters Report, written by Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans, a religion columnist for Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., as well as a freelance writer.
- Image: Townhall.com
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