Sisters Stories 2026
The stories below were recorded in January of 2026.
Clara Inés Ordóñez
“[Community Life] is a way to grow spiritually, to challenge yourself and do your inner work, which is the most important thing to be done in life. I think we’re always growing. This is something that you don’t stop. Community life has given me that opportunity. And having companions with whom to share your doubts or your questions, and your goals. So, yes, community life is very important for me. And nowadays it’s like I don’t see myself living by myself. I see myself living with others.”
Sister Andrea Turbak
“I think about the quote that’s attributed to Francis: “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” I think it’s about our life. It’s about being authentically in God, belonging to God, desiring God, having God as the center of our life. And if that is true for me, then my way of life is akin to God’s way of life. It’s about the fruits of the spirit: being loving, being joyful, being kind, being gentle. And I think that’s how people know God is by seeing how I or we live our life in God.”
Sister Jean Keniry
“Well, I survived the great exodus of the 80s and 90s and have stayed, all through these years. Very glad I made that decision. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, both for the type of work I’ve had, the people that have mentored me, and grateful for the religious vocation side of it, which gave us a framework for the profession.”
Sister Clara Marie
“As a class, we celebrated our 60th anniversary last year. It may seem odd that I would come [into the Community] as my sister was leaving, but it has turned out to be really a holistic choice. And I think one of the ways that it affected me is the invitation to live simply, and that has always been an important part for me. Call that poverty or call it simplicity, whatever you want to call it. I was also dealing with other people then. And relationships are an important of that. And that was good.”
Sister Geneva Berns
“I live right now in a retirement community. And there’s a lot of lonely, single women. We all have our needs.They just need to be listened to. And that is a gift I can give.”
Sister Mary-Anne Ryan
“My community has been the rock of my whole vocation and my life. The support they give me has been wonderful through the years, and I have really believed that I made the right choice in becoming a Sister, even though I didn’t think I was worthy enough to do it.”
Sister Madeleine Pellerin
“I wouldn’t say community life has been the easiest thing. I was the only daughter, and so living with all women was another experience for me. Like everywhere else, personalities at times would clash. They were challenging. But I always appreciated that the choices we all made were all the same in many ways. And our choices to live it, although they were personal ways of living it, they were still a communal way of living it. But having those choices, has been for me, extremely life-giving at this point of my life.”
Sister Dawn Kling
“To me, the vows were important because it was a response to God’s love that I needed something tangible to give towards. And being able to do it in context of other religious women who share a similar vision is really life giving and sustaining. And there is so much joy in it. There’s just an overall sense of goodness that comes through that you want to respond to. And that’s the whole point of life as far as I’m concerned. So yeah, it’s a good life.”