Changes open more options for nuns
By Julie Peterson
The Des Moines Register
At 62, Elsie Kippe was looking forward to retiring from 44 years of teaching in Iowa schools and touring the United States in a recreational vehicle. Instead, she attended a spiritual retreat and asked the retreat director what she should do with the rest of her life.
"She said to me, 'Elsie, go home, turn off your television and listen to what God says to you.' I went home, I listened, and this is what happened," Kippe recalls, looking around her modest room at Mount St. Francis, the Mother House for the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa.
Kippe exchanged her dream of a retirement RV for a life as a Franciscan sister.
"Elsie was the exception to join our community at 62," says Sister Janet May, vocation director for the Franciscans. "Our cutoff age for joining is 50. The formation process takes several years and we still want people active enough to do their chosen ministries."
Why would the Franciscans even consider accepting a retired schoolteacher into their community? Weren't all new sisters dewy-eyed and impish, like Sally Field in "The Flying Nun"?
Not necessarily. Changes in church regulations and American culture have given Catholic women increased options to becoming nuns.
"In the '40s and '50s religious vocations were rapidly expanding," May says. "Families were larger and women had few options. If a young woman wanted an education or to experience growth, she joined the convent."
In the 1960s, the Catholic Church experienced radical changes, and a spirit of reform and renewal was brought about by the Second Vatican Council. The changes promised relaxed regulations, liturgical reforms and a greater involvement in the church by lay people.
The sisters changed their lifestyles and clothing; there was an increased autonomy in their lives. The habits disappeared and the convents emptied out into smaller groups of sisters living together in apartments. Many sisters left their teaching and hospital work to lay people and went to "hidden ministries" involving prisons, the elderly, the poor, shelters and social causes. Without the traditional habit and familiar ministries, the sisters became invisible.
They also had fewer numbers. Sisters were making an exodus from their communities in large numbers, disillusioned or unable to cope with the changes set down by Vatican II. Fewer candidates were applying. Most convent communities were dwindling and aging.
The Franciscans were aging as well. The median age of its members is more than 70, but they are determined to remain viable. Creativity and flexibility for candidate recruitment are essential.
"We haven't had any new candidates for a number of years, but the interest is starting to increase again. . . . There is a thirst for spirituality and community out there," May says.
Individuals who wish to share the life of faith and ministries of the Franciscans while living their own lifestyles become Franciscan associates. This program is open to either gender without regard to marital status. The associates proceed through a formation process but do not take vows of commitment.
Although the median age of current new candidates in formation is in the 30s, there is little difficulty bridging the generational gap.
"We are fascinated by the older sisters.... They are the wise grandmothers of our community," May says. "The new candidates and younger members of the order are inspired by their elders' stability, prayerfulness and deep commitment to their vows and community life. They are a gift to our community."
In the evening, Kippe joins the community in the chapel for prayer and meditation.
After prayer, the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family gather for their evening meal. Laughter and lively conversation fill the dining hall as anticipation heightens for a faux Mardi Gras party. Snippets of the conversations reveal details of the outlandish costumes the sisters are planning to wear to the party.
"People believe sisters have to be something special," May says. "We're just common, ordinary people."
