Sister Sheila Carney chuckles when she recalls the day a few years ago her Sisters of Mercy were urged to call the White House to weigh in on an issue that stood to benefit Western Pennsylvania’s poor.
“One of our older sisters sat down and dialed the number,” Carney said. “(Each time) after she’d hang up, she’d dial it again and again. Finally, the frustrated receptionist who was logging the calls asked, ‘Just how many sisters do you have back there in Pittsburgh?’ ”
It’s just one example, Carney said, of sisters who aren’t sitting around mourning their rapidly declining numbers but instead are actively engaged in continuing their missions of service to their communities.
Some may be compelled to travel hundreds of kilometers for this work.
Sister Barbara Ann Smelko (director of Vocations for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill) said that one of her sister’s is an attorney, whose work on complex immigration matters takes her to New York City and New Jersey.
And the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Beaver County, founded Casa San Jose — the House of St. Joseph — in Pittsburgh in 2013 and continue to work with the staff there to support Latino immigrants in the area.
Sisters have offered their support to immigrants all over the country and around the globe, including those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
The Sisters of St. Joseph, like the Sisters of Charity plant sustainable community gardens. They also keep beehives, make soap and honey, and share their produce with neighbors and the local food bank.
“In our area, where food insecurity is increasing among children, this is important work,” Sister Sharon Costello said.
Despite the fact that the sisters occasionally get in trouble with conservative church leaders, many of them have become political activists and have made their voices heard in the halls national power.
Sisters from many orders joined hands with Allegheny Landing in Pittsburgh to offer a special Thanksgiving liturgy to clean water. After clearing out trash, they pledged to fight any future attempts to harm the rivers.
Sister Mary Parks, a former TV journalist who left secular life to join the Sisters of St. Joseph three decades ago, views it as her duty to tackle environmental issues on behalf of the world’s children.
“We don’t have children and grandchildren, but all children are ours,” she said. “We can’t fail them.”
Despite their smaller numbers than in years past their messages are still being heard.
“Their impact is enormous. It is so immeasurable in the institutions they’ve created,” said Maureen O’Brien, associate professor of theology and director of pastoral ministry at Duquesne University. “What I find remarkable and inspiring in these changing times is the way they are transitioning and continuing to share of themselves and their resources.”
While older sisters still use traditional methods to share their messages, many younger sisters are using social media to do so. They use the hashtag #medianuns to discuss everything from life inside their orders to their journey to becoming sisters to their takes on the Academy Awards to their picks for the Super Bowl to their ideas about what women really want for Valentine’s Day.
Twitter is used by some to answer questions from people who are contemplating religious life.
If you aren’t sure which order to join, online help is available via a service that looks a lot like a dating app. After completing a questionnaire, users are given a list of religious orders they are likely to be a good match for.
The service is available at VocationMatch.comThis includes asking about visitors’ marital status, if they have children, whether they are married or divorced, their education level, whether they are looking to move and if they are interested to be asked if they would like to wear a particular habit or one that could be worn on the streets.
All sisters, no matter how long they have served or how new they are to the faith, agree that the times call for all means to communicate their message and accomplish their mission.
“These times offer so many options for women religious,” said Elizabeth McGill, 37, who is midway through her journey to becoming an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister. “We can be nimble enough to respond to needs of refugees and immigrants. Many women of faith are leading climate change efforts.
“What a wonderful time to enter with this wonderful pool of wisdom of these strong women who entered at 18, who are inspired and filled with wisdom.”
Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff journalist. Deb can be reached at 724-851-1209, [email protected], or via Twitter .
