A vow is a sacred promise. As women religious in the Catholic Church, we make public vows of celibacy, poverty, and obedience to God. Our vows free us to express God’s love, mercy, compassion, and justice in service of God’s people.

While nuns and sisters are both called “sister,” there is a distinction made in the Catholic Church. Nuns take solemn vows and are cloistered, meaning that they reside, pray, and work within the confines of a monastery. Sisters take simple vows and live a life governed by the particular mission, vision, and charism of the respective order or congregation of sisters. Sisters embrace ministries that serve people in hospitals, schools, parishes, social services, or wherever the need is the greatest.

A distinctive quality of our call as a congregation (charism) is expressed in our Constitutions:

God, who is love, has called us to follow Jesus Christ as Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As women of the church, we are motivated by the vision and courage of Mary, the Mother of God, and of BVM Foundress Mary Frances Clarke. Ours is a pioneer heritage enabling us to move into the future responsive to the Spirit speaking in the exigencies of the time. Our mission of freedom is expressed in ministries of education, justice, and peace. We serve the people of God by living the Gospel in the spirit of simplicity, humility, and charity. Our choice of ministry is in keeping with our BVM mission: being freed and helping others enjoy freedom in God’s steadfast love.

The timing and length of the following steps are flexible. Initially, a woman comes to know the community in relationship with an Initial Membership Coordinator and BVM sisters who live in her area, and if possible, with others who are discerning religious life.

• Following this period of introduction, a woman may request to initiate a formal relationship with the congregation; the candidate prays with and participates in local gatherings of the sisters.
• As a resident candidate, she shares daily life with sisters in a local community and maintains her own ministry.
• The novitiate is a two-year deepening experience: The canonical year is a time of spiritual growth and learning about the heart of BVM life and how we live out our mission. As a second-year novice, a woman continues to deepen and integrate her experience of BVM life and mission while engaging in ministry and/or formal study.
• Temporary vows are made at the completion of the novitiate years and renewed until the time of final vows.

Vocation goes much deeper than a job or a career. The question of vocation, or calling, lies within the heart of each individual: How can I use my gifts in relationship to God, oneself, others and all of God’s creation? Talking to a spiritual director can be helpful to discern what the Spirit is suggesting.