Meet a Sister

Sister Rose Ann Eaton chuckles when she says her life has not followed the path she had in mind. From an early age, she had an idea that she might want to become a woman religious. But her mother suggested…

Editor’s note: Sister Bernice died Nov. 26, 2013, at age 91. Sister Bernice Kuper has been a first-hand witness to many dramatic changes that have impacted vocation, formation and spiritual life for herself, scores of individuals and the Catholic Church.…

How many times might you have heard, “I guess it was Providence, but I didn’t know it at the time?” Sister Helen Vinton might be a textbook example. She grew up on a western Nebraska ranch where everyone had to…

No telling what spark one nice, well-intentioned smile might kindle in the human spirit. Just ask Sister Jeanette Lucinio what one smile did for her. “I was first attracted to the Sisters of Providence when I saw them at Mass…

“Little Paula Modaff in Rome.” Sister Paula Modaff the high school teacher. Sister Paula Modaff the student, studying Spanish and Latin American Literature in Mexico. Sister Paula Modaff the paralegal. Sister Paula Modaff the canon lawyer. Sister Paula Modaff the…

Sister Barbara Ann Zeller describes herself as innately shy. In her younger years, she said she was a loner. She used to have a penchant for running away from some of life’s pressures, particularly youthful peer pressure. But her accomplishments…

I announced to my family that I wanted to be a Sister of Providence after my second day in first grade. The year was 1956. August 14, 2005, I professed Perpetual Vows as a Sister of Providence before our Congregation…

Sister Ann Margaret O’Hara’s five-year term as general superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is moving toward its end. She has been in a leadership position for most of her 51 years as a Sister of Providence,…

Editor’s note: Sister Marie Kevin died May 19, 2014, at age 89. Recently I read, “Those who come to religious life seem to have been born with a particular charism alive within them. In time, they find a Congregation that…

My grandparents and parents came from Mainland China, but I was born in Singapore. Growing up in this multicultural environment was enriching. A melange of spiritual experiences colored my earliest years. An ancestral shrine held a place of honor in…

Sometimes it takes a call even though “the call” already has been received. Once Cathy White had decided to act on her desire to join a religious congregation, she did what a lot of prospective women religious would do. She…