– OSV News / Katie Yoder
Sister Catherine Lucia Phoebe Addington, of the Daughters of St. Paul, still remembers the first time she entered a convent chapel when she was in the fourth grade.
“I saw the lamp in the sanctuary lit, and that absolutely blew my mind,” she said, referring to her visit to the residence of the nuns who taught at her school. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, can nuns live with Jesus? I didn’t know that… Sign me up!’”.
Sister Phoebe is one of four religious sisters who will take their vows in 2026 and who have spoken with OSV News about the story of their vocation and what led them to dedicate their lives to God. Their journeys have been different: some grew up attending Mass regularly, while others did not. Some knew they were called to religious life, while others followed a more complicated path. One of them temporarily left the Church before joining her community. Another had wanted to become a nun since she was a little girl.
Their stories also share similarities. Prayer, the sacraments, and worship played a fundamental role. Many were drawn to God’s unconditional love and to the joy they saw in the Catholics around them.
All of them wanted to devote themselves completely to God.
Made for Something More
Sister María Trinity joined the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee, after growing up in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Her parents came to the United States during the Lebanese Civil War and raised their three daughters in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.
“I remember that, when I was younger, I felt as though I was destined for something greater than what this world had to offer me,” said the 30-year-old sister.
As she grew older, her family stopped attending Mass as regularly. She felt that something was missing, and she reconnected with her faith in 3rd year of ESO after participating in a volunteer project at a local Catholic church.
Around that time, she also attended a youth rally for the March for Life, during which those who were considering a religious vocation were asked to stand up. Her heart was pounding.
“I hadn’t given religious life any thought at all,” she said. “Inside, I kept telling myself, ‘No, no, no.’”.
“A ”radical desire” to proclaim God’s love
Sister María Trinidad embraced her faith while studying mechanical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland. Her friends at the Catholic student center told her about the sacraments. She attended Mass, adoration, confession, Bible study, and spiritual direction. She met religious sisters and prayed with Dominican friars.
A turning point came during a time of adoration at a silent retreat. She heard God calling her to give herself completely to Him. That moment came after she had also attended Steubenville Youth Days and FOCUS mission trips.
“I began to feel an intense desire to proclaim the truth of God’s love and how this world is passing away, but God’s love never, ever fades,” she said. “I realized that the Lord didn’t need what I could do for Him, but simply loved me just as I was.”.
When she visited the Dominican sisters during her senior year of high school, she felt at peace. She entered the order in 2018, at age 23, and currently teaches middle school at a Catholic school in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She will take her perpetual vows on July 25.
“Something Stirring in My Heart”
When Sister Concepción Medina, of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, was about two years old, she told her aunt that she wanted to become a nun.
Born and raised in New Mexico, she grew up in a culturally Catholic environment alongside her five siblings. She received the sacraments but did not attend church regularly. She experienced a defining moment amid a series of small moments along her journey toward religious life.
“I realized that, throughout my life, God had always been inspiring me in my heart to belong only to Him,” said the 32-year-old sister.
A Little Push from St. Francis
When I was in my early twenties, I remember experiencing “that profound sense of knowing” while singing the “Kyrie” during Mass.
“I knew with every fiber of my being that God was calling me to religious life and asking me to belong exclusively to Him… I felt shattered,” she said. “This feeling of desolation, of course, changed over time, and in reality, it was due to my own selfishness.”.
God made it clear to her that she should join the congregation of the Franciscan sisters.
“After I came to visit, the Lord sent St. Francis to guide me on the right path,” she said, adding that she saw images and statues of the saint everywhere. “It wasn’t until I gave in and returned to this place that I experienced a deep sense of peace about everything.”.
She entered the order at age 24. She is currently in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, at the sisters’ motherhouse. She is a nurse and cares for the sisters in the infirmary. She will take her perpetual vows on August 2, during the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi.
“I can give myself completely to Jesus”
Sister Joseph Lucia, of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, spoke from her order’s motherhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is one of seven siblings and was raised in the Catholic faith in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
This 28-year-old woman said that the first time she seriously considered a religious vocation was during her Confirmation, in the 3rd year of ESO. The bishop gave a talk on vocations and said he was praying that her Confirmation class would follow the Holy Spirit.
“I remember thinking and praying, ‘Jesus, if you want me to be a nun, I’ll do it—you just have to tell me,’” she said.
She began to consider religious life more seriously at the end of her first year at Clemson University, while she was studying nursing and Spanish. She began her discernment process when her older sister entered the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters.
“That really inspired me to reconsider it, thinking, ‘My God, is this really what you’re calling me to do?’” she said, recalling her sister’s joy.
Her devotion to the Eucharist and to Mary led her to join the Dominican Sisters. Her love for both grew during her college years, when she attended Mass daily and devoted time to prayer and adoration. In addition, she realized she was drawn to Dominican spirituality after some Dominicans visited her school.
She left college to enter the convent at age 21. She currently teaches at a Catholic school in Findlay, Ohio. She will take her perpetual vows on July 28.
“I can give myself completely to Jesus in response to the absolute love he has shown me,” she said, referring to her role as the bride of Christ. “I can be a visible sign of how much Jesus loves his Church, of how much Jesus loves each and every soul.”.
“A Sense of Belonging to God”
Sister Phoebe grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where she now lives as a Daughter of St. Paul. As a child, she used to visit the congregation's bookstore in that city. Now, she serves there as a sister.
She was raised in the Catholic faith alongside her two sisters and attended her parish school. This 32-year-old sister has experienced “that total and instinctive sense of belonging to God” throughout her life. At the same time, there were certain revelatory moments along her journey toward religious life. She loved learning about the saints as she prepared for confirmation and realized that many of them were nuns.
Her journey was not an easy one: she left the Church at age 18 because she was appalled by the abuse scandal. Around that time, some Orthodox Christian friends invited her to their church.
“Every day I’m inspired by the testimony of my Orthodox friends, who, upon seeing someone who was suffering, told them, ‘No pressure—you don’t have to join our church; we just want you to know that you’re welcome to pray here if that helps you stay close to Jesus,’” he said.
She returned to the Catholic Church three years later, when, among other things, Pope Francis visited the United States in 2015. His message about reaching out to the marginalized touched her personally.
“He has a plan”
The Daughters of St. Paul, whose mission is to make Christ known, taught her to pray during her discernment program. Through prayer, she fell in love with Christ. She entered the congregation in 2021, at the age of 27, after completing a Ph.D. in Spanish literature and translation at the University of Virginia. She made her first profession on February 14, Valentine’s Day.
“There are many people who, for one reason or another, tell themselves, ‘I can’t be happy,’” he said. “God loves you just the way you are, and He has a plan for you—and that plan is better than you can imagine.”.
The four sisters offered their advice to young women who are in the process of discernment. They recommended letting God guide them and spending time with religious women. They suggested praying, reading the Bible, and receiving the sacraments. They encouraged the women to trust in God.
“Above all,” said Sister Concepción Medina, “fall in love with God wholeheartedly, and everything will fall into place.”.
This article was first published in OSV News. It is republished on Omnes with permission. You can read the original article in English. HERE.
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