Overcoming personal debt a problem for many aspiring religious

Published: 2005-05-23

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- When Deanna LaValle entered the College of St. Catherine, she wanted eventually to work with deaf children in India. So she majored in American Sign Language, with a second major in Catholic studies. Four years later, her plans had changed. When she graduated last spring, LaValle, who lives in Stillwater and belongs to St. Augustine in South St. Paul, knew God meant her to devote herself to religious life. She did her research and, in time, found a religious order that felt right for her -- the Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest, a French-speaking order near Florence, Italy. But LaValle would not be able to join as quickly as she wished. First, there was the matter of her $16,000 student-loan debt. LaValle found there were plenty of people willing to help her. She got a job and turned to family, friends and an organization in Eagan called the Laboure Foundation, which helps aspiring religious and priestly candidates pay off their debts. "Now I just owe $2,000," she said, adding that she hopes to have her loans paid off in time to fly to Italy this fall and join the Adorers.

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