By Sister Jeannette Abi-Nader, HM

(Editor’s Note – This is the first of a series of articles which will feature the ministries of the sisters serving in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.)

In most cases you can’t recognize them among ordinary people. For many of them, the only distinguishing emblem is a small medal, a cross or a ring. But for the 189 religious women who serve the Church in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, their ministry is both extraordinary and distinguishing.

They represent 24 religious congregations whose community centers stretch from Philadelphia to Racine, Wisconsin; from New York to Birmingham. Although there are no motherhouses in the state of Georgia, some communities like the Sisters of Mercy (RSM) from Baltimore have served the people of this area since 1866, when they first came to the Immaculate Conception Academy. Their 24 members now serve in St. Joseph’s Infirmary, in various parishes and schools (including Our Lady of the Assumption) and in archdiocesan offices and religious education.

The Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart (GNSH) first came from Philadelphia to Atlanta in 1937 to found Christ the King School and eventually St. Jude’s and Immaculate Heart of Mary schools. Their 22 sisters now also help staff St. Pius and the Office of Catholic Schools.

The 40 sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet (CSJ) number the most in the archdiocese and have served Georgians since 1867. Their ministries in this archdiocese include education, ranging from the Village of St. Joseph to the state universities and health care and social services.

“What characterized the church of Atlanta in those early days was a climate of openness which brought religious communities together in close personal cooperation,” says Sister Madeline Roddenbery, RSM, former Superintendent of Schools and past president of Atlanta Conference of Sisters. “As each new community came to the city, the established ones extended a warm helping hand. This atmosphere continues to foster a creative, professional, friendly spirit among all the sisters,” Sister Madeline said.

The external circumstances of sisters have changed greatly in the last decade but the basic direction and commitment of their lives is still prayer and service through a vowed life.

To the traditional apostolates of teaching and nursing, the sisters have added numerous related ministries – services which span generation gaps, language barriers, class lines, special interests – even prison walls.

Besides founding schools and hospitals, they staff social service agencies, work on parish teams, run daycare centers, resettlement offices, schools of religion and programs for the elderly. They teach in state universities, give retreats, counsel prisoners and care for cancer patients.

This high visibility has brought its risks, but Sister Mary Frances Duffy, GNSH, who teaches religion at St. Pius X High School and is regional representative for NAWR, points out that “Jesus in His ministry was highly visible, too. What religious women aim to continue,” she observes, “is the healing, compassionate, forgiving presence of Jesus among people. And, like His, our presence must lead others beyond ourselves to the Father.”

Those who have experienced the healing presence of sisters in their lives may be surprised that the experience is mutual. Sister Margaret McAnoy, an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister from Monroe, Michigan, and principal of Our Lady of Lourdes School, works as assistant spiritual director of the Atlanta Cursillo movement and attests to the importance of adult support in fidelity to any vocation.

“I know that the couples and single laity I come in contact with through the Cursillo are a vital factor in my perseverance,” she says. “Just as many married couples feel supported in their vocations by priests and sisters, so are we supported by them. I’ve been challenged to be all that I vowed some years ago not only by my sisters in religious life but sometimes even more strongly by lay friends.”

What may also surprise many people in the sisters’ experience of religious life as a dynamic, evolving process. “This is an exciting time to be a religious woman,” says Sister Kathy Tomlin, CSJ, a history teacher at St. Pius. “My concept of religious life has changed over the years and the vague understanding of the vows has deepened as I grow in the living out of those promises. This deepened awareness, she says, comes through action as well as prayer and reflection. “Through the past few years, I’ve become convinced that this reflective stance is an essential contribution religious can make to the world.”

Sister Ursula Marie Hughes, a Philadelphia IHM and principal of St. Peter and Paul, agrees that prayer and service are integrally joined. She, too, has found a deeper prayer life because of “the support of zealous priests, dedicated religious and beautiful Christians” who have touched her life.

For some communities the tension between prayer and service is not so acute. The Visitation Sisters, a cloistered group at the Monastery of the Visitation in Snellville, have as their main focus an interior life of prayer and reflection. They strive in fidelity to the hidden life of Jesus “to be for the Universal Church, a powerhouse of charity.” A sister who has spent 30 years in the community describes her life as joyful and fulfilling – filled with the “peace that comes from being where God wants you to be.” The sisters at the monastery make altar breads for parishes and ceramics. They also offer the public the opportunity to use their chapel and grounds for days of reflection and retreats.

Vocation to the religious life remains a mystery to much of the world and even to the sisters themselves. What prompts over 140,000 American women to choose a life of poverty, celibacy and obedience is certainly not explained by our culture. Yet the contribution they make to the culture in terms of human caring, professional service and deepened spirituality is tangible evidence of their dedication to Christ and to His mission.