HOW YOU CAN become a sister

Even More Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve got a car and some savings. What would happen to them?

With respect to the car: as a postulant you would keep it if you wanted to. You’d still be responsible for it – payments, maintenance, gas, etc. As a novice, you’d make arrangements to sell or give it away.

With respect to your money (including income, credit cards, 401k plans, etc.): as a postulant, you would earn a salary and continue to take care of your financial affairs. As a novice, you would ask someone else (a member of your family or some other trusted person) to be a steward of your assets. They would still be completely yours, but for the period of the novitiate, you would not be involved in their daily management. This would continue during the period of temporary vows.

Would I have to pay rent to the sisters while I lived with them?

Usually we ask postulants to give us some nominal room and board money. Novices are in another category of dependency on the community and so receive all that they need – food, shelter, clothing, books, etc. – from the community.

I have a profession already. Would I be able to continue working in my profession if I joined the Assumption?

The Church has entrusted us with the mission of education. In the U.S. province, we don’t own any schools ourselves, though we collaborate with others in schools and colleges. For us education is not simply about schools, however; rather, it covers a broad spectrum of activity, including parish work, education of adults, prison ministry, advocacy for immigrants, teaching ESL, organizing communities, etc. So we put our professional skills at the service of the community. That means that if you were a lawyer, say, you might work on immigrant issues. Or, if you were an architect, your skills might be put to use in helping develop affordable housing among the poor in southern New Mexico. The idea is that each of us contributes something to the project of the province. That project is something that we discern together every six years in concert with the project of the Congregation as a whole. We are committed to effecting change in society as Assumption communities rather than as Assumption “Lone Rangers.” This means that we have to be flexible and willing to listen to the mind of the group. Another word for that kind of listening is “obedience.”

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How You Can Become A:

AMA Eva Castilla and Sr. Diana