For three weeks, she helped St. Teresa of Kolkata's Missionary Sisters of Charity, minister to abandoned children, some of whom were severely disabled. They took the children off the streets and cared for them.

"It was a life-changing experience that gave me deeper insight into the preciousness of life," Sister Graciela told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen.

"Although I knew that I was not called to enter the Missionary Sisters, in the chaos of Calcutta, I felt such a deep peace that awakened in me the desire to become a religious."

A native of the Dominican Republic, she was born in 1985. Her parents are Fior and Rafael Hernandez. She is her mother's only child.

Sugeirys Colon is her older half-sister.

When she was 4, her family moved to New York, first to the Bronx then and later to Manhattan.

In 2007, Sister Graciela earned an undergraduate degree at Fordham University, majoring in political science at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

A year later, she began working with nonprofit immigration organizations including Wind of the Spirit Immigrant in Morristown, New Jersey.

In 2010, she graduated from the Benjamin N. Cordozo School of Law in New York City and began a career as an immigration lawyer.

Upon returning home from India, she researched various religious communities on the internet and found one that she decided to visit — the Sisters of Christian Charity, Daughters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception at the Mallinckrodt Convent in Mendham, New Jersey.

Sr Graciela brings compassion to her clients, advocating for the poor and immigrants who often suffer at the hands of unscrupulous attorneys and employers.

Members of the order labour in the fields of education, health care, parish ministry and social justice.

Many work in the Diocese of Metuchen.

"I was drawn to the eucharistic spirituality and joy of the sisters and their enthusiasm. It felt like home to me," she said of the visit.

In August, Sister Graciela pronounced her vows as a Sister of Christian Charity during the Liturgy of the First Profession.

A month later, she began working as a lawyer at the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen's Immigration Services, in Perth Amboy.

What she likes most about being a religious is being totally dedicated to God and to the service of his people in the church. She brings that sense of compassion to her clients, advocating for the poor and the immigrant who often suffer at the hands of unscrupulous attorneys and employers, and who may not speak English.

Sister Graciela, who speaks Spanish and serves many clients of Hispanic descent, also assists people born in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Catholic Charities serves all regardless of religious affiliation.

As an immigration lawyer, Sister Graciela said it is an advantage being a religious because her clients trust her because of the good experiences that they had with religious sisters.

Clients say, "As soon as I saw you, I knew that everything was going to be fine." Continue reading

The People's Supreme Court upheld the jail term of 30 months for lawyer and dissident Joseph Le Quoc Quan for charges of tax evasion.

His firm was also fined 1.29 billion dong (approximately US $61,000), local sources said.

Church sources stated that only Quan's mother and wife were allowed to be at the four-hour appeal trial, while hundreds of Quan supporters stood outside in the cold and rain.

Supporters had attended a special Mass at Redemptorist-run Thai Ha Church and then marched to the court.

Security officials prevented people from entering the court by erecting barriers on streets leading to it. Police also took photos and video of supporters.

Quan started his hunger strike on February 2 to demand jail authorities give him access to religious books and to a priest for Confession and Communion.

His hunger strike is also a way to protest against the legal process.

The blogger and human rights lawyer is well-known for taking part in pro-democracy activities and giving legal support to Catholics petitioning the government to return church properties.

Quan's firm also provided legal aid to factory workers and poor people.

The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the decision to uphold the conviction, which it called inconsistent with Vietnam's international commitments to freedom of expression.

"The use of tax laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is disturbing," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Quan's arrest in 2012 came nine days after the BBC published his article criticising the Vietnamese constitution.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• South China Morning Post
• Image: South China Morning Post