The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate estimates that in there were about 50, women religious in the United States, compared to about , in Serjak attributes the decrease in the number of religious sisters to the fact that women who have a desire to serve the poor and marginalized and make a difference in the world now have opportunities to do that outside of religious life.
Despite this cultural shift, some Catholic women are still expressing an interest in becoming part of a religious order. The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas welcomed six women into their congregation in In addition to the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, the sisters in this order also take a vow of service to the poor, sick and uneducated.
The new Sisters of Mercy come from many different walks of life -- they are nurses, teachers, and administrators. What they have in common is that they have all become convinced of the fact that God was calling them to live in a way that is decidedly countercultural.
The Huffington Post asked these six new Catholic sisters to tell us what they wish more people knew about people who chose to enter religious life.
Scroll down to read their answers. We are not holier or better than others. We want to live our lives with purpose. We are still a part of society and often do things that other people do. Thomas Hospital was the first religious institution to open its doors to AA and later had a full hospital wing dedicated to alcoholism treatment. Alcoholics Anonymous AA is considered one of the most successful rehabilitation programs in American history. Bob Smith. Wilson discovered that helping other alcoholics was the key to maintaining his own sobriety and helped Dr.
Bob to get sober. The two men began assisting other alcoholics, one person at a time, in an upstairs room of Dr. Bob's home. Soon after, Dr. Bob met Sr. Ignatia Gavin of the Sisters of Charity of St. Ignatia was a displaced music teacher working at a hospital in Akron, Ohio. Desperate for a hospital that would help with the idea alcoholics might be sick, Dr.
Bob asked Sr. Ignatia for help. Against her superiors wishes, Sr. Ignatia began sneaking Dr. Together, they brought AA to 5, sufferers of alcoholism.
Even after Dr. Ignatia continued to care for and support alcoholics, helping to bring AA to over 10, more sufferers. Watch the video, The Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous. Photo of some Titanic survivors recovering at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. The two men with the nurse in the background are Titanic crew members. The man with the pillow behind him is Thomas Whitely, who was a waiter on the ship. He suffered a broken leg and burns. To his right is John Thompson, who was a fireman on the Titanic; Thompson suffered a broken arm.
When the Titanic sank in April, , rescue boats brought nearly survivors into the New York Harbor. Of those, nearly were cared for at St. On September 11, when two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center towers, victims were brought to the very same hospital; St.
But the times had certainly changed and St. In order to deal with the crisis, the Sisters of Charity called in thirty retired nuns to help. The Sisters of Charity also established a family crisis center that responded to over 11, calls from people searching for missing loved ones after the bombing.
During this dark time, Sr. Miriam Kevin Phillips upheld St. While the population of nuns in the United States is on the decline, across the world many young women are still joining religious life. Educated nuns are key players in overcoming many of Africa's development challenges. Similar to the nuns of the United States, these young women are building schools, hospitals and establishing important programs to serve the poor and vulnerable communities across Africa. Their work is dangerous and often takes place in extremely poor and rural communities where help is desperately needed.
But, Catholic congregations in Africa are over a century behind the United States, with Africa's first congregations starting in the early s. Paul specialize in communicating their order's mission and beliefs through modern forms of media. This group provides spiritual ministry through books, podcasts, radio, YouTube, apps and other media.
Agatha Clark is from Portland, Ore. She specializes in intercultural communication and is completing a Bachelor Arts at the University of Oregon with double majors in linguistics and Spanish. Clark is fascinated by expressions of human psychology and culture. Before refocusing her educational path toward language, she originally went to school to become an artist.
Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. What about a monk are they priests or brothers? I have always been confused by these terms. These terms are indeed confusing, because they are often used interchangeably even though they have technical differences. First, let's look at the difference between nuns and sisters.
A nun is a woman who belongs to a religious order and takes the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Their vows are publicly accepted by superiors in the name of the Church and solemn. In general, solemn vows are professed by members of religious orders after a period of temporary, simple vows.
When bound by solemn vows, a woman is a nun but is commonly called "Sister" although some orders use another formal title, like "Dame" or "Mother" ; when bound by simple vows, a woman is a sister, not a nun, and thereby called "Sister.
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