Nuns meet the Pope!
Yesterday, Sr. Judith Miryam was blessed to attend Vespers with Pope Francis at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Our Bronx sisters were given four tickets and as only three of their sisters were attending they offered the extra ticket to us. Sr. Judith Miryam headed to the Bronx monastery a few days early so as to avoid the chaos of travelling closer to the Pope's arrival in the city. Last night the rest of the community "attended" the Pope's celebration of Vespers via television. The sisters had a very long wait inside the cathedral before Vespers began, and Sr. Judith Miryam sent us a picture of herself with Sr. Mary of the Sacred Heart (Bronx) waiting for the Pope.
We knew from Sr. Judith Miryam the general area where they were seated, so we tried to spot them when the Holy Father entered the Cathedral. We did see them, but our camera wasn't quick enough to get a picture! Later, during the Holy Father's homily after the Vespers reading he thanked American women religious. At this point some women religious in the pews stood up and the camera focused on them. There was our Sr. Judith Miryam!
You can just see her behind the blonde woman (sister?) in tan. Sr. Mary of the Sacred heart is farther to the right.
Today two more of our sisters are off to see the pope! At the last minute a friend offered us tickets to the Mass at Madison Square Garden, so Sr. Mary Catharine and Sr. Denise Marie hopped on a train this morning Manhattan bound! Last night one sister suggested to Sr. Mary Catharine that she take along a side rosary (besides her own!) to have blessed by the Holy Father "just in case someone receives the habit in the future". So she was divested of her own side rosary and put on a brand new one for some unknown future novice who will be lucky be the lucky recipient of a side rosary blessed by the Holy Father (assuming, of course, he offers to bless the religious objects brought for that purpose). Other sisters suggested adding medals to the rosary for blessing, another thought of tucking some holy cards in sister's cuffs.
Sr. Judith Miryam, Sr. Mary Catharine, and Sr. Denise Marie were not our only sisters to see Pope Francis! A few of the sisters posed with the Holy Father (though not exactly "in the flesh") when visiting with our Sr. Mary Elizabeth last weekend at the St. Catherine Infirmary.
Sr. Mary Cecilia, Sr. Mary Elizabeth, Sr. Joseph Maria, and Sr. Mary Magdalene with "Pope Francis"
