Religious Life Through the Generations

The purpose of this project was to illustrate what has motivated women from different generations to enter religious life and how their concepts of the vows were similar or different. This project examined the spiritual lives of three women and how this aspect of their lives has evolved through the years.

For this project, three Sisters of Providence were interviewed representing the following three generations:

• Sister Marceline Mattingly — Civic or G.I. Generation (1901-1931)
• Sister Marilyn Herber (formerly Sister Vincent Marie) — Adaptive or Mediating Generation (1932-1944)
• Sister Norene Wu — Boomer Generation (1945-1963)

The names of each generation and the years included often vary from source to source. For this project, the names and years of these generations are based on research presented by James V. Gambone, Ph.D., during the 2007 Annual Conference of the National Communicators Network for Women Religious.

Characteristics of the three generations

What are some of the characteristics of the three generations of women represented in Religious Life Through the Generations? Below are some of the general characteristics. Credit for this content is attributed to James V. Gambone, Ph.D., “Generations on the J-O-B,” in the Oct. 8, 2007, issue of The Indianapolis Star, the 2005 winter/spring issue of FDUMagazineOnline (Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey) and material provided by the Sisters of Providence Vocation Office.

• Civic or G.I. Generation (1901-1931): respect for authority; conformers; sacrifice; adherence to rules; work before fun; savers of money
• Adaptive or Mediating Generation (1932-1944): value loyalty and pragmatism; respect authority; savers of money/pay cash, not credit; adherence to rules; highest number of volunteers come from this generation
• Boomer Generation (1945-1963): optimistic; value involvement; pay later/use credit; workaholics; crusaders; question authority

To listen to the complete audio or to view the transcript, click on the links below.

To view snapshots from the life of each sister, click here.