BRISBANE’S Vicar for Religious Ursuline Sister Mel Williams said women religious around Australia were a “powerhouse of prayer and wisdom”, praising their contributions to the life of the Church during Catholic Sisters Week.
She said women religious in Australia have played an essential role in education, healthcare, working for the poor, advocating for people facing modern slavery and responding to the things “no one else wanted to do”.
While some people saw religious life as a thing of bygone generations, Sr Williams said the vocation ultimately sprung from a calling to be “drawn into knowing who Jesus is”.
“There will always be longings for this,” she said.
She said the changing face in the Church matched well with Pope Francis’ words that this was not so much “an era of change as a change of era”.
“One of the things about religious women,” she said, “They do know about synodality a fair bit.”
She said women religious have been “walking with people” for a long time in their lives.
Sr Williams said religious life was about chasing the “longings of the heart”.
For her, the seeds of religious life grew out of her family, who influenced her with their strong faith.
“Faith was very important,” she said.
“And I did have a sense of drama as well – ‘I’m leaving the whole world and my great career and I’m going to give it all to Him’.
“I thought I was doing Him a favour, but I worked out after a couple months that – my goodness – what a favour He’s doing me.”
She said her vocation was about finding her truth and finding out how best she could live in the world to serve God and others.
Catholic Sisters Week is a US-led awareness week that started in the United States in 2014 and has since grown to become an international event.
It is observed annually from March 8 to March 14 and celebrates the legacy of Catholic sisters who have made significant contributions to education, healthcare, and social justice causes.
Catholic Sisters Week was a time to recognise the service of Catholic women religious and their invaluable contributions to the community.
