In spite of the tumultuous year we have all been experiencing, our Sisters were blessed to accept not only a new postulant, but also four new novices!
Surrounded by Sisters, friends, and family from across the U.S. watching in person and over Zoom, Katie Shelton became a postulant of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth on August 14 of this year. While attending a discernment retreat in 2018, Katie sensed “a deep peace” in her heart which she said “rested in Jesus, the spirit of the Sisters, and their loving hospitality.”
Katie joined Becky Garcia, who began her postulancy in 2020. During their postulancy, Sr. Marietta Osinska will serve as Katie and Becky’s director, guiding them through a structured discernment.
On August 8, at our Provincialate in Des Plaines, Illinois, our postulants Kayla Danks, Katie Allen, Molly Spiering, and Binh Nguyen became novices during the Rite of Initiation into the Novitiate. As novices, these young women also chose their religious names. Kayla is now Sr. Esperanza Marie; Katie is Sr. Therese Marie; Molly is Sr. Molly Bernadette; and Binh is Sr. Mary Clare.
During this period of their formation, the novices will work with the novice director, Sr. Joanna Filip to deepen their knowledge about the CSFN charism, spirituality, and history. This two-year period includes time for contemplation and reflection on what it means to be a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth. These young ladies represent the future of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
We ask that you join us in praying for our novices and postulants are they continue to grow in their vocation. We know how important our Sisters are to all of you, and that the mission that our Foundress brought to these shores lives in your hearts. Katie, Becky, Sr. Esperanza Marie, Sr. Therese Marie, Sr. Molly Bernadette, and Sr. Mary Clare stand poised to carry that same mission into the future and spread the love and joy of our Nazareth Family to the next generation.
