Julie A. Ferraro

Julie A. Ferraro, a journalist for more than 30 years, is a Benedictine Oblate of the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, Idaho. She currently uses her communication and other skills in service to various organizations within the Benedictine family.

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Volunteers prep the community garden, part of the new Community Resource Center at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Diego. (Courtesy of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas)

Mercy Sisters, intentional community strive to help immigrants in San Diego

At San Diego's Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, 14 miles from the border, Mercy Sr. Mary Waskowiak and retired businesswoman Adela Garcia have launched the Community Resource Center to assist immigrants.

Sr. Conchetta LoPresti, left, signs "Lord" with the sign choir during a 2013 Mass at Resurrection Parish in Cheektowaga, New York. (Courtesy of Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities)

Q & A with Sr. Conchetta LoPresti, sharing God's word through her hands

The merger of five Franciscan communities into the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in the mid-2000s brought her to New York state as the religious moved to their new regions. She currently serves as coordinator of deaf ministry for the Buffalo Diocese.

World Day of Prayer for Vocations is April 25: Vocation directors share their strategies

What do vocation directors do? How has the ministry of accompanying people as they discern religious life changed since the pandemic? GSR talked to six women religious who have some answers.

Sr. Suzanne Susany of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities assists immigrants from home in Pittsburgh during the pandemic. (Julie A. Ferraro)

Q & A with Sr. Suzanne Susany, immigration attorney working with women in need

In 2006, inspired by the needs of immigrants, Sr. Suzanne Susany — then in her 60s — enrolled in law school to become an immigration attorney. She spoke to GSR about her path and current work.

Sr. Darlene Kawulok of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Los Angeles Province, (second from left) takes a picture with women living at Medaille House in July 2019. Medaille House, founded in 2013 by the St. Joseph sisters, started offering virtual

Intentional communities connect sisters with those who seek spiritual growth

Intentional communities have cropped up over the last decade to connect sisters with those who are seeking spiritual growth and discernment, even if they don't plan to enter religious life.

Cadbury's Mini Eggs, which Julie A. Ferraro resolves to steer clear of during Lent. (Flickr/William Warby, CC by 2.0)

A chocoholic's Lent

In more recent decades, Lent's focus has shifted from giving up bad habits to doing good works, stepping outside one's comfort zone to do good deeds, or praying more. Still, the chocolate hangs over my head.

Benedictine Sr. Placida Wemhoff accompanies workers as they move furniture from the residential Annex at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho, prior to starting a renovation project in October 2020. (Provided photo)

Idaho Benedictines offer new kind of religious life opportunity: cohousing community

As the face of religious life continues to change, and with an awareness that lay people are seeking intentional community, the Benedictine Sisters of the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Idaho have started the Benedictine Cohousing Companions.

Franciscan Sr. Caryn Crook, left, and Julie A. Ferraro set out from the House of Discernment for a breath of air. The house is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Pittsburgh. (Caryn Crook)

Settling in to discern with Franciscan Sisters in Pittsburgh

GSR Today - The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities sponsor a house of discernment in Pittsburgh where I have just started the journey toward building an intentional community and our respective future with Sister Caryn and two others.

Clinton Franciscan Sr. Bertha Zeiser (Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa)

Oral histories capture sisters' memories before they're gone

GSR Today - The best way I found to become acquainted with sisters is by recording their personal oral histories, which I, as an "inadvertent archivist," got to do with the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa.

Sr. Patricia Bietsch prepares grilled cheese sandwiches in the St. Mary Mission hall kitchen, February 2016 in Tohatchi, New Mexico. (Julie A. Ferraro)

Sr. Patricia Bietsch shared her life with the Navajo

GSR Today - Oldenburg Franciscan Sr. Patricia Bietsch served the Navajo for years through several ministries, all of which expressed her respect for their traditions and her concern for their needs.

A Mercy sister uses the institute’s "Morning and Evening Prayer of the Sisters of Mercy." (Provided photo)

Congregations find their own voices with Liturgy of the Hours revisions

"We wanted a prayer book that would reflect who we are." Some congregations of women religious in the U.S. have their own versions of the Liturgy of the Hours — the daily prayer of the church.

Mary-Teresa Robinette, Change a Heart Franciscan Volunteer Program volunteer, joins a child from Angels' Place in Pittsburgh on the slide in March 2020. (Provided photo)

Sister-based volunteer programs adapt to pandemic restrictions

Since the onset of the pandemic, altering their full-time volunteer programs has been a major adjustment for many women's religious communities. GSR takes a look at three major groups to see how they are doing.

Some of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Placid Priory in Lacey, Washington, pray at a distance during an outdoor May crowning. (Courtesy of Benedictine Sisters of St. Placid Priory)

In formation to be a Benedictine oblate

GSR Today - Currently, I am in formation to be an oblate with the Benedictine Sisters at St. Placid Priory, established in Lacey, Washington, near Olympia, in 1952.