DIOCESAN NEWS
09/26/08
..............................................................................................................................................

Novice brings `different’ experience to vocation
By Fabvienen Taylor
      JACKSON — If Debra Murphy completes her journey to become a School Sister of St. Francis (SSSF) she will bring a different experience of living to her community.
     “A lot of the sisters have been there since high school, or before,” said Murphy, 57. “The sisters don’t have the same type of experience I have and I think that is a good thing.”
     When Murphy becomes a School Sister of St. Francis she will be one of a group of older women entering religious orders after marriage and children. They were dubbed “Sister Moms” by the media over a decade ago.
     In fact it was after reading a news article several years ago about “sister moms” that rekindled — after marriage, four children, divorce and annulment — Murphy’s interest in pursuing a vocation as a religious sister.
     Interested in a vocation since grade school, Murphy attended high school taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in community with other girls interested in the religious life.
     Encouraged to attend college and live outside of the religious community before making a commitment to religious life, Murphy married and started a family.
     All of her children are grown and two are married.
     Once Murphy decided to look again into pursuing a religious vocation, she contacted the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee.
     “One of my children had been taught by one of the sisters and I liked their mission,” she said.
     The SSSF mission, from their website (www.sssf.org), is: “To witness to the Good News of Jesus and the presence of the reign of God as we enter into the lives and needs of people, especially those who are poor.”
     Originally established to educate immigrants, today the School Sisters of St. Francis are an international congregation of 1,200 sisters and associates serving in educational, prayer, healing, social and pastoral ministries in Europe, Latin America, India and the United States.
     Before she entered this new chapter of her life, Murphy worked as a tax analyst after earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
     So far the order has one vocation with a background similar to Murphy’s.
     Currently a novice, Murphy recently toured areas in the Diocese of Jackson — Walls, Holly Springs, Jackson, Iuka, etc. — where sisters from her community minister.
     Unsure of the ministry she will go into, Murphy is comfortable working with most age groups. “I would prefer working one-on-one with people and I have my work background I could use.”
     From the Diocese of Jackson, Murphy was scheduled to return to Milwaukee before visiting other sisters of her order in Nebraska and Iowa.
     After completing her two-year novitiate, Murphy will take temporary vows for three to six years before final vows.
     “I think people my age still have a lot of things we can do,” said Murphy.
     The number of previously married women inquiring about a religious vocation is growing, although it is still relatively small, according to an Internet article, “Widowed Mother Becomes Presentation Sister,” at www.thonline.com.
     The article went on to state that according to a 2007 Vision Vocation Match survey, 13.3 percent of women looking at a religious vocation were either widowed, separated or divorced.
     In 2008, the number was 14.8 percent.

TOP

HOME
Back to Diocesan News
Diocesan Archived News