![]() I felt energised staying with them – even though it meant rising early to join them at Mass (they had already been praying for more than an hour).Īmong the many bright memories of my stay is the sight of the Reverend Mother sitting on the front doorstep in the noisy New York street, chatting away to a crowd of young people who had gathered. The young Sisters – their average age is well below 40 – exude warmth, faith and a strong sense of purpose. But many women do stay in contact and send pictures of thriving children and of lives re-shaped in a positive direction. Goodwill, good humour, tact and patience are needed in offering help and care – and not all counsel will be followed or every kindness reciprocated. It is not easy work: every woman struggling with a problem pregnancy has her own worries, anger, resentments and difficulties. This project was launched by Cardinal O’Connor to offer an alternative to the horror of abortion – and the Sisters have won a place in the hearts of many through their loving and practical care. The Sisters’ work involves giving the women a refuge, together with practical help and counsel, in an atmosphere of calm and friendship while future plans are made. The substantial building now houses a large community of Sisters, and, in an independent adjoining wing, rooms for local pregnant women and their babies. It is a large red-brick convent formerly belonging to an older order which no longer needed it. I recently stayed with these Sisters at their main house, not far from St Patrick’s Cathedral. In their veils and full habits, they are very much in tune with the new women’s religious orders in the United States, including the Sisters of Life, founded by Cardinal John O’Connor of New York in 1991. They also tend to be big fans of St John Paul II and Benedict XVI, passionately loyal to the Church, very orthodox in their beliefs and devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. They are contemplative in spirit, energetic and good-humoured. They are inspired by the centuries-old traditions of religious life, and take seriously Vatican II’s call for an authentic renewal that responds to the specific needs of our time. Rather than opening schools, as new religious orders did in the 19th century, these new orders are concentrating on nurturing families and evangelising youth through retreats and a range of out-of-school activities. ![]() They all wear a full religious habit, sing the Office together daily, cherish the Church, have Mass as the centre of their lives, live simply, and watch little if any television. Their numbers are on the rise – as are those of some of the older contemplative orders, such as the Benedictine Sisters at St Cecilia’s on the Isle of Wight and the Tyburn Nuns in London. They are evidence of a new direction for religious orders. Other burgeoning communities in England include the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph in Lymington, Hampshire the Sisters of Mary Morning Star, at Grayshott, Hampshire and the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in Leeds, Yorkshire. The community is not large, but it’s growing – and in this it is part of a trend worth examining. The blue-and-white clad Sisters of the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham have recently acquired a new novitiate, a converted barn in Dereham, Norfolk, on a large stretch of land with another barn which they are turning into extra rooms for their youth work. Not all women’s religious orders are shrinking. A member of the Sisters of Life attends the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington (CNS/Nancy Phelan Wiechec)
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