A vocation is a special call from God. It entails listening to the inner voice, deciding to respond to it, and committing one’s life to a course of greater worth.

A nun or sister is a woman who has received a special call from God and decided to offer her life (or to consecrate her life) to God for the service of humanity. Nuns live the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.

God talks to us through very human and normal experiences we make: God can put a strong desire to serve Him and to become a religious in your heart; He can make you love and admire some nun or some of their apostolates and want to be like them, doing what they are doing for the people of God.

If their Charism and Spirituality attract you and you deeply love to serve God that way. The fact that you're visiting our website is a good sign!

But you'll truly know if the Tertiary Sisters are right for you after meeting our sisters, discussing your goals with our vocations team, and lots of discernment.

In other words, there's no pressure! A good first step would be to get in touch with our vocations team.

None of our nearly 500 sisters would answer this question the same way! But our sisters all share common experiences. Most would say that they experience their vocations as gifts from God, and that a life devoted to serving God and humanity brings them great meaning and fulfillment.

You can start by telling them how much God, the Church, and service to fellow man means to you, and that you would like to explore how you can devote your life to these principles.

You can tell your parents about the process of discerning a vocation––determining whether religious life is right for you. You don't have to make a final decision––or convince them to accept a decision––right away. The more they know about your motivations for seeking a religious life, the more likely they are to support and encourage you.

Reach out to us!

You can visit the sisters, spend some time with them, make an experience of some of their apostolates, and attend vocation camps or Live-in programs organized by the congregation to give their aspirants a chance to learn and experience the life of the sisters.

In a word, no! A vocation is a journey, not a trap.

When you enter the convent, you begin with a journey, a process of formation that gradually prepares you through various stages of formation to a final life-long commitment to God.

You begin by being an aspirant, through contacts and communications.

Next comes the Postulancy, which is lived inside the congregation for two years; followed by the Novitiate period of two years too which culminates in taking the Vows (Simple Profession).

The period of the Juniorate, is next, in which you fully participate in the apostolates of the Congregation, while still discerning and renewing your Vows every year.

After 5 years or more, if you feel you want to make a life-long commitment to God, you then apply to become a sister.

Once in the religious family, we live according to the charism and spirituality of the congregation.

While becoming a sister means forgoing many secular pleasures and professional goals, it does not mean that your talents and interests will go unused or unfulfilled.

Your education and talents will be put to good use in our ministries and apostolates. And, of course, you will still have your hobbies and recreation.

The important principle of religious life is that your talents should be exercised for the interest of the Congregation and service to God and humanity.

Being Franciscans, we are bonded together by Peace, Love, Joy and Sisterly concern, all being values that give us our Franciscan identity. Community Life is central to our calling. As a family, we celebrate our blessings and achievements and share our joys and sufferings.

No.

For the Tertiary Sisters, the answer is yes! The Tertiary Sisters have their doors open and welcome widowed and divorced women.

A typical day of a Tertiary Sister begins with Holy Mass, with Prayer, from which we gain inspiration and strength to carry out various apostolates in the course of the day: In the hospital, school, social/pastoral work, Secretariat's duties, bursary, studies, farming, animal husbandry, cooking and various house works. The day ends also with prayer.

For the first two stages of formation, the Postulancy and Novitiate, you will live in a formation house. In the Juniorate, you will live in the community and can be transferred from one community to another.

While a candidate, during the first two stages of formation, you learn about the religious life, social teachings of the church, and Christian doctrine, the Constitutions of the Congregation.

After the Vows, while you continue to deepen your knowledge of the religious life, you can also, as the Congregation deems it necessary, pursue theological studies, and secular courses like accounting, nursing, and medicine.

In each stage of formation, there are formators appointed by the congregation to mentor candidates.

You will serve anywhere the Sisters are, and carry out the Apostolates of the congregation. This could be in Africa, South America, or Europe.

It begins with getting to know each other!

You can start by contacting us, and if you like what you hear, set up a visit.

After much discernment, you can formally decide to pursue a religious life with the Tertiary Sisters  following the stages we have outlined above.