The Community of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood is a contemplative community of Pontifical right founded in 1861 by Catherine Aurelia Caouette in St. Hyacinth, Canada. Today there are 19 monasteries of the Precious Blood. Six of these are autonomous houses joined together in the American Federation; four belong to the French Generalate of Canada and seven belong to the English Generalate of Canada. Two independent monasteries are located in Japan.

Devoted to a life of contemplation, the mottoes of the community are: "Adoration, Reparation and Suffering" and "Fidelity, Constancy and Generosity" The sisters' life of prayer is a true living of the gospel and it is in every way apostolic. Directing all their energy toward a deepening of their relationship with God, their life together in community witnesses to the Presence of God here on earth. The Catholic Church depends upon contemplative communities and on their intercession for the needs of the world.

The community observes Constitutional Enclosure with limits on the cloister defined in the community's Constitutions. The Sisters are permitted to leave the enclosure for genuine spiritual and physical needs. This includes a yearly home visit.

Far or near, you are forever remembered in our prayers! We would love to share our spirituality with you or answer any questions you may have about our community. May the Precious Blood of Jesus be the source of all your Joy in a world searching for happiness!

Sisters of the Precious Blood
400 Pratt Street
Watertown, NY 13601-4238
315-788-1669 Fax: 315-779-9046
inquiries@sisterspreciousblood.org

The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was established to minister to Native Americans and African Americans. Saint Katharine Drexel was the first to pronounce her vows as a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament. St. Katharine founded and staffed schools throughout the country for Native and African Americans. St. Katharine also founded Xavier University an institution for Black Catholics. The Sisters concerns today are for the Eucharistic social justice, while serving the poor, and oppressed. The Sisters minister through prayer, counseling, education, health care, social work, and other spiritual works of mercy.

Founded: 1891, Bensalem, PA
Founded by: Saint Katharine Drexel
Superior General: Sister Patricia Suchalski, S.B.S.
Email: psuchalski@aol.com

Vocations Director: Sister Karen Cote, S.B.S.

Address: 1663 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, PA 19020-5796
Phone: (215) 244-9900
Fax: (215) 244-8174
Email: s.r.karen@juno.com
Web Site: http://www.katharinedrexel.org

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross is a dynamic international congregation that is part of the Holy Cross family of sisters, brothers, and priests. Founded in 1841 in Le Mans, France, the Sisters of the Holy Cross number approximately 500 members worldwide and minister in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru, Uganda and the United States.

Their ministries focus on providing education and healthcare services, eradicating material poverty, ending gender discrimination, and promoting just, mutual relationships among people, countries and the entire earth community. Walk with us in our life and mission.

For more information contact:

Sister Mary Margaret Weber, CSC
2017 Quail Forest Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: (919) 878-0741
E-mail: marymargaretcsc@yahoo.com

Sister Mary Ellen Johnson, CSC
11133 51st Ave. South, Apt. 53
Seattle, WA 98178-2142; (206) 725-6505
E-mail: mejohnson@igc.org
Web site: www.cscsisters.org

The Sisters of the Holy Family began its ministry to educate and care for the children of salves. The Sisters taught classes for the free people of color and established orphanages prior to the Civil War. The mission of the Sisters of the Holy Family today is to serve the poor and the marginalized which society has forgotten. The Sisters serve as administrators and educators and are also involved in pastoral ministry, religious education, health services, and care for the elderly.

Founded: 1842, New Orleans, LA
Founded by: Mother Henriette Delille

Superior General: Sister Eva Regina Martin, S.S.F.
Vocations Director: Sister Carmen Marie Bertrand, S.S.F.

Address:
6901 Chef Menteur Hwy
New Orleans, LA 70126
Phone: (504) 241-3088 or (504) 241-2519
Web Site: http://members.aol.com/srdechantl/hfamily/

How we began:

On Pentecost Sunday, 1887, Margaret Mary Healy Murphy, a moderately wealthy widow in her mid-50's attended Mass in downtown San Antonio, Texas. After the homily, the celebrant read a letter from the American Bishops to the Catholics in the South, calling them to respond to the pastoral and educational needs of the post-civil war African-American people. As she left church that Pentecost morning Margaret Mary, a woman of compassion and justice, was determined to respond to that call from the Holy Spirit. By September of 1888, she had already built the first school and church in Texas, dedicated to St. Peter Claver, for the African American community of San Antonio. Due to the difficulty of maintaining a stable faculty because of racial prejudice, the local bishop suggested she initiate a Religious Community of Women. Thus was born the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate in 1893 (better known as the "Holy Ghost Sisters" until the late1960's).

Where are we today: From San Antonio, where St. Peter Claver School has now become the Healy Murphy Learning Center, we serve in many ministries and among many cultures, in US Southern States, in Zambia, Africa, and in Mexico. Our charisma and mission remain the same as that of Mother Margaret: to be that compassionate presence of Jesus among the poor, especially those who are deprived of their human rights.

Superior General: Sister Miriam Mitchell
E-mail: mmitchell@shsp.org 
Vocation Director: Sister Gabriel Hession
E-mail: sghession@hotmail.com

To know more about us look us up on our web page: www.shsp.org

BEGINNINGS

In 1849, six women and five men, Third Order lay Franciscans, left Ettenbeuren, Bavaria, to become missionaries in the New World. These Tertiaries settled in Nojoshing (St. Francis), Wisconsin. The women formed a small religious community under the guidance of the Rev. Anthony Keppeler, their spiritual leader, and Bishop John Martin Henni of Milwaukee. Through difficult times and circumstances, three religious congregations evolved from this foundation: The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, La Crosse, Wisconsin; and the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, Meriden, Connecticut.

MISSION

Our Mission as Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi is to further the coming of the reign of God: to live the Gospel; to be faithful to the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis and the Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi; to carry forward the dependence upon the Father, with the prayerfulness, simplicity and hospitality which marked the foundation of the Congregation in Milwaukee; and to be available in service to the Church, at home and abroad, in those areas of concern and need that call forth the corporate and personal gifts of our members.

Director of the Congregation: Florence Deacon, OSF
Vocation Director: Kathy Cairns, OSF

Address:
The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi
3221 S. Lake Drive
St. Francis, WI 53235-3799
Phone: 414.744.1160
Web Site: www.lakeosfs.org

 Who We Are

We, at SMA, are a community of Catholic missionaries who come from around the world with a commitment to serve the people of Africa. For 150 years, SMA missionaries have been present in Africa. We strive to be a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ among our brothers and sisters in that continent and among people of African heritage wherever they live.

We are priests, deacons, seminarians, and lay men and women. We are teachers, carpenters, health care professionals, musicians and more. We work, live, and worship in the spirit of Christian community.

We are called to share the language, culture, and history of the peoples we serve, following the tradition of our Founder, Melchior Marion de Brésillac (1813-1859). His guiding vision was to serve God by establishing and supporting local churches and indigenous clergy. Today, more than 1000 SMA missionaries continue to fulfill the Founder's vision.

The initials "SMA" stand for Society of African Missions in Latin: Societas Missionum ad Afros.

For information, call:

SMA VOCATIONS DIRECTOR
Deacon Keith McKnight
23 Bliss Avenue
Tenafly, New Jersey 07670
Phone: (Toll Free) 1-888-250-4333
E-mail: vocations@smafathers.org

For more then 125 years, the Salvatorians have been dedicated to making the love of Christ known to all people. During peacetime and social upheaval, through change and challenges, the Salvatorians have remained guided by our founder, Father Francis Jordan.

Jordan's original plan was to found an international association of priests and laity with varied levels of commitment and involvement. Church authorities led him to adopt the more standardized structure of a religious order of priests and brothers which eventually became known as the Society of the Divine Savior, the Salvatorians. The women's branch became known as the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Savior and in 1970 the Associate program was approved and today is known as the Lay Salvatorians. Today, the Salvatorian family is present on every continent of the world. As the movement grows, so does its good work-spreading the love of the divine savior to all people.

Salvatorians strive to become apostles for our times, and invite others to discover and respond to their own call to be apostles. We advocate for peace and justice, standing with the poor and marginalized, and supporting one another through mutual love, prayer and service.

Jordan understood the influence of communications to touch the hearts of people and attract vocations. I believe he would be very supportive of the most modern means of communication available to support vocations today.

Today, we experiment with various means of contemporary communication including texting, tweeting, blogging, skyping, and email, but we find Facebook is one of the more effective ways to connect and develop communication with men and women discerning their vocation. The most tried and true form of communication is simply personal contact.

An important message we want to communicate to men, women, and the laity discerning their call is to realize that it is a process of trust in Divine Providence. It is vital that we truly listen to the inner voice of the Spirit who calls us to prayer, community, and service for the sake of the Kingdom of God and not think that one has to be perfect, scrupulous, and sanctimonious to be considered worthy to respond.

The world needs genuinely human, flawed, and loving persons who find joy and meaning in serving and inspiring others. The Lord will give us the grace we need to work toward wholeness and holiness. As St. Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This vocation needs people of faith who are willing to commit to something greater than ourselves. As with most effective communications, the medium should also be the message.

David Holton
Associate Director of Vocations
Society of the Divine Savior, The Salvatorians
414-258-1735 ext. 104

Become a "fan" on facebook! www.facebook.com/salvatorians

Founded in 1875, the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) has more than 6,000 missionaries who serve the spiritual and humanitarian needs of people in more than 70 countries. Of the world's ten largest Roman Catholic religious orders for men, the Society of the Divine Word, commonly known as Divine Word Missionaries, is the fastest growing and the only one to experience a consistent increase in membership over the past 40 years. That growth can be attributed partly to the order's devotion to equality and social justice.

In 1920, the SVDs were the first Catholic order to open a seminary for African American men who wished to become priests and brothers. St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Miss., which they dedicated in 1923, educated many African American clergy both for their own religious community and for other communities and dioceses who went on to lead the Church in the United States. In the early 1970s, 40 percent of all African American priests ministering in the United States were educated by Divine Word Missionaries. Today, Divine Word Missionaries count four African American bishops serving in the United States among their ranks.

Founded: 1875, Steyl, Holland
The SVDs established a presence in the United States in 1897 at Techny, Ill.

Founded by: Saint Arnold Janssen

Chicago Provincial: Rev. Mark Weber, SVD

Address:
1985 Waukegan Rd.,
P.O. Box 6038
Techny, IL 60082-6038

Phone: (847) 272-2700
Fax: (847) 272-2517
Website: www.divineword.org

Southern Provincial: Rev. James Pawlicki, SVD

Address:
199 Seminary Dr., Bay St. Louis, MS 39520-4626
Phone: (228) 467-4322
Fax: (228) 466-5618
Website: www.svdsouth.com

Western Provincial: Rev. Briccio Tamoro, SVD

Address:
11316 Cypress Ave.
Riverside, CA 92505

Phone: 951-689-4858
Fax: 951-687-3158
Website: www.svd-ca.com

Vocations Director: Mr. Len Uhal

Address:
Divine Word College Seminary,
P.O. Box 380
Epworth, IA 52045-0380

Phone: (800) 553-3321
Fax: 563-876-5515
Email: luhal@dwci.edu
Website: www.svdvocations.org

The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) is an order of religious priests and brothers founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540. The Jesuits are well-known for their work in education, spirituality, and social justice, all as a missionary order in service of the Church. Their motto, "for the greater glory of God", is at the heart of all their living and working, and brings them into exciting opportunities for ministry. Recent general congregations of their order have called the Jesuits to greater collaboration with the laity, ministry to the poor, and inter-religious dialogue in their service to the Church here and throughout the world.

Why not consider becoming a Jesuit? So much of Jesuit spirituality has strong and vibrant connections with African-American life and spirituality. The black tradition calls for a sense of the sacred and divine. Spirituality has given black people the strength to go on through the threats to their existence and worth and dignity. It is expressed in so many ways-song, dance, freedom of expression in worship, body movement. More important is the LIVED expression of one's relationship with God, especially displayed in reverence and respect for life. In Ignatian prayer, all of a person's spiritual and mental and even physical faculties are used in one's relationship with God.

A key element of Ignatian spirituality is "finding God in all things", so connected to the perspective of the Spirit of God being alive in all creation. The social dimension of Ignatian spirituality is a thrust to being a person for others, leading to the Jesuits' work for the service of faith and the promotion of justice. The most important tool for determining and directing one's response to God in Jesuit life is the habit of discernment. There is the strong sense in African-American spirituality that life points the way to God. Thus, the daily practice of the "Examen" of consciousness, to reflect on one's experience of life, can help a person be ever clearer in the way he/she lives discipleship.

What have Jesuits seen and heard? That God is alive and active and involved in our lives and our world. We have experienced the deep touch of God calling us forth to live, to love, and to serve. Jesuit life is indeed a great whole-hearted "AMEN!" Please visit our website at www.jesuit.org for more information. May God be praised through your life and your service!

Vocation Director: Rev. Robert Ballecer, SJ
The Jesuit Conference of the United States
1016 16th Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036

Website: www.jesuit.org
Email: usjc@jesuit.org
Phone: 202-462-0400

Mission and Ministry

The heart of the Society of Saint Edmund's mission is serving where the need is greatest, a credo that has led us to four core ministries: Social Justice, Education, Spiritual Renewal and Pastoral Ministry. Edmundites have an active presence at Saint Michael's College (Colchester, VT), alternative schools such as Bishop Perry Middle School (New Orleans, LA) outreach missions that help the poor such as Edmundite Missions (Selma, AL) retreat centers at St. Anne's Shrine (Isle La Motte, VT) and Saint Edmund's Retreat on Enders Island (Mystic, CT) and in parishes throughout Vermont as well as Selma and New Orleans. It is through these core ministries that we live out a faith-based life of service and make a real difference in people's lives by bringing them closer to God.

Vocation

The call to religious life has always been a mystery. I am sure that my family is still wondering what happened to me. As a child I never considered myself very religious, but I was always fascinated by the Sacraments. Like many young people, I thought about a vocation, but the time just didn't seem right. After I graduated from college, I felt a strong calling from God that just would not go away, and I entered the Society of Saint Edmund, a small religious community with its headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. Like many religious communities, the Edmundites had a rich and interesting history. Founded in France in 1843, we were forced to flee from persecution landing in northern Vermont. Later the community accepted an invitation to minister in Selma, Alabama. We were there during the struggle for civil rights; we were there on "Bloody Sunday;" we are still ministering to the needs of God's people wherever we are called.

The call to follow God is a universal reality that transcends different cultures and different times. Maybe you have felt it yourself. It is notable that throughout its various forms, religious life has retained a remarkably similar value system that crosses cultural and religious boundaries. These values include a commitment to prayer and a life of simplicity. We are a spiritual people, who express our spiritual hunger through story and ritual.

If you think that God is calling you, I would encourage you to consider talking to a priest, religious brother, or sister, about your journey. They can offer you a bit of their own wisdom and experience. Another good place to start looking is the Catholic Religious Vocation Network (http://www.vocation-network.org/). Like most important life decisions, the more information we have, the better we are able to decide. I often think of my religious life as an adventure. I have always believed that the work that I do is important. I will close with a story.

'Tell us about the place of risk in the spiritual life,' the disciples said. So the teacher told the story of the peasants who were taken by cargo plane month after month to work on the Burma Road. The flight was long and the work was boring, so the men took to playing cards as they were flown from site to site. But since they had no money, they decided that the person who lost would be required to throw himself out of the airplane without any parachute. 'Why, that's horrible!' the disciples gasped. 'Ah, yes,' the master said, 'but it certainly made the game more exciting.'

Michael Cronogue, S.S.E.
Society of Saint Edmund
(802) 654-2431; Email: mcronogue@smcvt.edu

The Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (our official title) is an interracial community of priests and brothers who work in the African American community. We are a community of Apostolic Life, in fact, the only religious community of men in the Roman Catholic Church who engage exclusively in this ministry to and with the African American Community.

Most of our priests and brothers work and live in the parish setting; however, we are open to other areas of ministry. Our goal of evangelization is accomplished by culturally sensitive and vibrant worship, solid Catholic teaching, and promotion of family life. Josephite priests and brothers work in parish schools, in Religious Education and RCLA programs as well as in parish youth work. In New Orleans, LA, we operate St. Augustine Middle and High Schools, both African American, all male institutions with enrollment reaching 900 students. As Josephites, we are engaged in hospital and prison work, in programs for chemically addicted persons, and open to campus ministry.

Superior General:
Vy. Rev. Edward J. Chiffriller, S.S.J.
1130 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

Vocations Ministers:
Rev. Charles Andrus, S.S.J.
New Orleans, LA 70116
(713) 203-3698

Bro. Louis, S.S.J.
Rev. Peter C. Weiss, S.S.J.
1200 Varnum Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 832-9100