A delightful interview with Orianne Dyck, a postulant in the Daughters of Saint Paul, in which she offers an inside glimpse of her discernment journey.

June is a month full of beautiful celebrations for us Daughters of St. Paul. Our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, told us that June should be the “Month of St. Paul.” He even wrote a book with that title! With the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29 (and for the Pauline Family, the feast of St. Paul all by himself on June 30!), the whole month is an opportunity for us to pray to St. Paul, learn from him, and commit ourselves to imitating him in his following of Jesus.But before ...

On May 18, 2019, in Nyeri, Kenya, Sr. Jackie Jean-Marie made her perpetual profession of vows as a Daughter of St. Paul! Sr. Jackie is originally from Kenya, but entered the Daughters of St. Paul in the United States. At her perpetual profession, she received her mandate from Sr Donna, our provincial superior, to serve in our community in New Orleans, Louisiana!Perpetual profession is the commitment to live the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience as a Daughter of St. Paul forever. It is the...

St. Paul Summer Program 2019!We invite young women entering, currently in, or just finishing high school who want to learn more about the vocation to the religious life to consider our St. Paul Summer Program! This year’s summer program will take place Thursday, July 25-Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at our Novitiate House in Boston. The program includes daily Mass and Adoration, Morning and Evening Prayer with the community, an experience of our mission in our publishing house, writing and art tr...

We love introducing you to our Sisters! This week, meet Sr. Diane Leonard! Originally from San Diego, currently stationed in Hawaii...she has lots of experience and lots of stories! 1.     What is your name?  Sr. Diane Leonard Kraus  2.     Where are you from originally? San Diego, CA 3.     How long have you been a Sister? 42 years 4.     Briefly, how did you meet the Daughters of St. P...

May is the month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Mother.This May, I’m really looking forward to journeying more intentionally with Mary and asking her to bring me closer to Jesus. But my relationship with Mary hasn’t always been so intentional. For a long time, I had trouble relating to Mary. I prayed to her, and I always felt a connection to her total surrender to God at the Annunciation, but I never really related to her as a mother, or as a woman.Looking back on my life, I ...

(Blog post adapted from my discernment blog, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com.) “No one else can tell me what to do: I value my freedom too much.” Obedience is not popular today, although everyone is called to practice this virtue in some form. In terms of religious life, it's probably the hardest vow to understand in our individualistic culture when resistance to or rebellion against authority is so often seen as a virtue. Mistrust of institutions and of authority, due...

Happy Easter Season from the Daughters of St. Paul! We wanted to share with you an Easter letter from our Founder, Bl. James Alberione. He not only speaks of the joy of Easter, but also of what this joy moves us toward--becoming "great saints in Christ"! This Easter season, ask our risen Jesus to guide you to the path of holiness that He has in mind for you!The whole Church is feasting, as it celebrates the Spouse who conquered the battle against hell, death and his adversaries. The Ch...

Living Holy Week in the convent is a special experience of intimacy with Jesus. This Holy Week, we ask you to pray for the five young women who have joined us for our Holy Week Discernment Retreat. We will be praying for you throughout the Triduum, and we hope you enjoy this brief Holy Week reflection from our Founder, Blessed James Alberione.Be compassionate towards others; this is the second commandment: love one another. In these days the Church invites us to consider the Crucified Jesus. Thi...

April 4 is the anniversary of the birth of Bl. James Alberione, Founder of the Daughters of St. Paul. What would he say to the Daughters of St. Paul today? Here are his words that both encourage and challenge us---we hope they do the same for you! (Maybe YOU are one of the "new apostles" he speaks about!)"The Church is on the move.With the progress brought by the passing of timehas also come an increasein the dangers and the means that do harm to souls.But at the same time, the Lo...

(Blogpost is adapted from my blog on discernment, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com) “Celibacy is too hard.”I think this is one of the comments I hear the most when someone is considering religious life. And celibacy is hard. I don’t deny it. Every human being is created for the intimacy of spousal love, and celibacy is giving up that physical expression of spousal love. Renouncing all that is entailed in a spousal relationship for the sake of Christ and his kingdom is a re...

"Salvation" is a big word...but in reality, it is a very daily concept. Salvation takes place precisely in our day-to-day lives. Sr. Christina Miriam wrote about this for the Boston College newspaper:"As you spend these days of Lent, consider the ways you have experienced the salvation of the Lord in your life. Where do you see the providence of the Lord? Where has the mercy of God touch you? ...As we journey toward Easter, are there aspects of your life and heart that are crying ...

We'd love for you to get to know our Sisters! This week, meet Sr. Paula Marie, originally from Massachusetts and currently stationed in our community in Boston (with a few exotic stops along the way!). She's a wonderful storyteller, and she's got some great discernment advice!

“Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” St. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians, in a reading that we hear on Ash Wednesday. Lent is indeed an acceptable time for drawing closer to God and for growing in our spiritual life. Lent is also an “acceptable time” for taking your vocational discernment a little bit deeper. Whether you are actively discerning, or whether you are just starting to feel pulled toward discernmen...

(This blog post is adapted from my blog on discernment, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com.)  “I couldn't do without my...car, own place, movie collection, ____________.” In a recent poll I ran asking people the main reason they don’t consider religious life, this statement was checked off by a large percentage of those polled. I guess it’s not surprising in our materialistic culture.  When I entered the convent, I didn’t yet own a car, and I w...

Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo is the co-foundress of the Daughters of St. Paul, and this week we celebrated her 125th birthday! As a way of saying Happy Birthday, we wanted to a week's worth of "Mother Thecla Motivation." Celebrate with us and with her and ask her to pray for you this week! God bless you!1. "Sometimes we have little faith, little spirit of faith. We reason in a human way, 'from the rooftop down.' Instead, we must become more supernatural. We need a gre...

We'd love for you to get to know our Sisters! This week, meet Sr. Andrew Marie, originally from Houston, Texas, and currently stationed in our community in San Antonio! You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @SrAndrewFSP.What is your name? Sr. Andrew MarieWhere are you from originally? Houston, Texas (Howdy!) How long have you been a Sister? I’ve been a Sister for almost 10 years.Briefly, how did you meet the Daughters of St. Paul? I first found out about our community through ...

For Daughters of St. Paul around the world, February is affectionately known as “Mother Thecla Month.” Our co-foundress, Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo was born on February 20, 1894, and died on February 5, 1964. This year marks the 55th anniversary of her death.Born in northern Italy, the young Teresa Merlo was already an active leader in her parish, despite frail health that had prevented her from joining the Cottolengo Sisters. At the age of 21, she met a young priest, Father James...

The Daughters of St. Paul Holy Week Discernment Retreat!We invite single young women ages 18-33 who are discerning a vocation to the religious life are invited to consider our Holy Week Discernment Retreat 2019! The retreat will take place Wednesday, April 17-Monday, April 22, 2019 at our Novitiate House in Boston. It includes Mass, community prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, a silent retreat day on Good Friday, conferences, an experience of our mission, the celebrations of the Sacred Triduum and E...

Our congregation has an unusual name. Recently, I overheard a parishioner at a parish we were visiting say to one of the sisters, “I didn’t know Saint Paul had daughters!” Of course, Saint Paul wasn’t married and didn’t have a family of his own. But he has had many spiritual sons and daughters over the past 2000 years. When I first visited the Daughters of Saint Paul to discern my vocation, I did so despite their name. I loved my first visit at their ...