For 98-year-old Sister Angela Rooney, it was one of the most jarring moves of her life. She always thought she would live out her days as she had for decades, in a convent under the time-honored Roman Catholic tradition of younger nuns dutifully caring for their older sisters. But with few young women choosing religious Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Religious Life’
Convent stories
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015
I call Sr Silvana on the landline and she apologises for not having a mobile signal – she was in the basement. Not walking the cloister in silence but running a hostel and helping the students she works with. Much of our conversation is spent talking about school (I went to one run by the Read more
Revival in entries to women’s religious orders in England
Tuesday, April 28th, 2015
The number of women entering religious orders in England and Wales has reached a 25-year high. Forty-five women chose to pursue their vocations last year, the highest number since the 1980s. The number for 2014 was up from 30 the previous year. The figures, released by the National Office for Vocation in England and Wales, Read more
Religious warned not to abandon Vatican II renewal
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015
A cardinal has warned religious against trying to abandon the changes in the Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz said this to a conference of religious formation directors in Rome last week, according to an article in the National Catholic Reporter. “Do not distance yourself from the Read more
Dunedin’s Dominican Priory cleaned, repaired to attract buyer
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015Work has begun tidying and repairing the long-neglected former Dominican Priory in Dunedin, as the Catholic Church makes another attempt to sell the historic building. Scaffolding and a skip have arrived outside the priory for what Catholic Diocese of Dunedin general manager Gerald Scanlan said was ”a bit of a clean-up”. The 138-year-old building has Read more
Year of Consecrated Life: Pope Francis’ message
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Consecrated Life, I am writing to you as the Successor of Peter, to whom the Lord entrusted the task of confirming his brothers and sisters in faith (cf. Lk 22:32). But I am also writing to you as a brother who, like yourselves, is consecrated to God. Together let us Read more
Society of Mary sells former novitiate farm at Highden
Tuesday, October 14th, 2014
The Society of Mary is selling Highden farm in Manawatu ending an association with the property that goes back to 1922. The homestead was owned by the society for 67 years and for 64 of those it was the house of formation for novice priests and brothers. The house was sold in 1990 but the Read more
Nuns — frontline superheroes
Friday, August 22nd, 2014
In an age of villainy, war and inequality, it makes sense that we need superheroes. And after trying Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, we may have found the best superheroes yet: Nuns. ‘‘I may not believe in God, but I do believe in nuns,’’ writes Jo Piazza, in her forthcoming book, If Nuns Ruled the World. Read more
Signs of hope in the Church and world
Tuesday, June 24th, 2014
What are the signs of hope in the Church and the world? My initial reaction to that question was somewhat confronting. Besides the “Francis factor”, I saw very few signs of hope in the Church. This response was probably strongly influenced by the heart-rending stories of pain, suffering and broken trust that have been told Read more
Being a “Nun on a bus”
Friday, June 20th, 2014
It is difficult to believe that it has been fifty years since I joined my religious community, the Sisters of Social Service, and began a lifetime of commitment to the quest for justice based in the Gospel. Over the decades my spirituality and prayer life have deepened to be a contemplative life of “walking willing.” Read more