‘Nun Run’

MENDHAM  Throughout the Diocese, almost 525 women religious live and serve the faithful sharing their lives, prayers and ministry with the people of God. The presence of these women expresses the reality of a lifelong commitment to the Gospel and the Church’s mission of evangelization.

During the week of March 8 to 14, religious sisters across the country will be celebrating in observance of National Catholic Sisters Week, which was created to honor women religious. According to the National Catholic Sisters Project, which coordinates the week, the weeklong nationwide celebration will include events that instruct, enlighten and bring greater focus to the lives of these women, who have sacrificed so much. The week gives the faithful a chance to recognize all they have done in their lives. It also gives the opportunity for more young women to learn about life as religious. The week was founded to coincide with Women’s History Month that takes place in March.

Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healy, diocesan chancellor/delegate for religious, said, “As we celebrate National Catholic Sisters Week, I hope those who attended Catholic schools over the years, were trained at a Catholic hospital by a sister-nurse, or remember a sister at their parish as a child, take time to think and pray for these dedicated religious sisters. Just today, a gentleman visited the Chancery and he happened to mention a sister who taught him in eighth grade years ago. He never forgot her and what she did for him. He praised how she affirmed him, helped him succeed and just cared about him and his classmates. We called her and the reaction was priceless. The sister had absolute joy that she was remembered by a former pupil and after so many years, she in return remembered him. That’s what National Catholic Sisters Week is all about.”

The Diocese will celebrate the week with a weekend event called “Nun Run,” which will be held March 9-11. Several religious orders will participate in the event, which will invite young women to visit some of the different charisms in the Diocese. It begins at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Christian Charity here Friday evening with prayer, dinner and a preview of community life. The women who attend will stay overnight at the Motherhouse and then on Saturday, they will visit nearby orders — the Sisters of Charity in Convent Station; the Religious Teachers Filippini in Morristown, and the Carmelite Monastery in Morristown. They will also visit a Benedictine Monastery and a Hermitage. Through these diverse orders, they will witness the different types of religious life available to them, from teaching, healthcare and parish work to contemplative and cloistered.

Meals will be provided as well as transportation to each of the motherhouses. The event was made possible through a grant the Diocese received from the organizers of National Catholic Sisters Week.

Sister of Christian Charity Bernadette McCauley, vocations director of her order, wrote the grant proposal and is a member of the diocesan vocations committee. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for young women to learn about the many religious orders that serve in the Paterson Diocese,” she said. “Several events are also being held during National Catholic Sisters Week for Catholics in the Paterson Diocese to celebrate the commitment and contributions made by so many women.”

Several religious orders will host events for National Catholic Sisters Week. The Sisters of Christian Charity are planning an afternoon event the following Sunday, March 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. This event is open to the public and the sisters will offer a prayer service, breakout sessions, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and evening prayer.

“During this time, we will honor our past, share our present and believe in our future as part of National Catholic Sisters Week,” said Sister Bernadette.

Sister Joan Daniel considers the week a great opportunity to pray for sisters and all those who will be participating. “Pray for the young women that will be attending the different activities in the religious communities the week of March 8 to 15,” she told The Beacon.

“Bishop Serratelli and all of us here in the Chancery send best wishes and a grateful thank you to all our sisters — past, present and future — who have served us so well in the Diocese of Paterson. Call a sister who you had in school and make her day as I was able to make one sister’s day after meeting that gentleman on his visit to the Chancery.”

[To participate in the “Nun Run,” contact Sister of Christian Charity Bernadette McCauley at [email protected].]