Tag Archives: Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal

Five Women Lay Their Lives Down for Christ

On June 2, 2012, 5 Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal pronounced final vows in the presence of Timothy Cardinal Dolan and their founder, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR.

In poverty, they accept the loving care of the Father Who will provide for them for the rest of their lives. In chastity, they will possess Jesus as Spouse. In obedience, their will and the will of God become one.

Cardinal Dolan received the vows and said, “If you observe them, I promise you everlasting life.”

Sr. Lucille Cutrone, Community Servant and founding member, was a New York City Public School teacher who had as her spiritual director the Servant of God, Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ. From the wilderness of Siberia to the soup kitchens of East Harlem, nothing is beyond the reach of God and no meeting is impossible to orchestrate!

Congratulations to Sr. Francesca, Sr. Monica, Sr. Mary Pieta, Sr. Joseph, and Sr. Maria Teresa.

An Olympian Goes For the Eternal Prize

The National Catholic Register has an article in the current issue (July 15-28, 2012) about a former Olympian who is now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Sr. Catherine Holum was an American speed-skater at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Appropriately enough, she is stationed in England where the XXX Olympiad will kick off on July 27th.  Her mother Dianne has 4 Olympics medals.

When she was 16, Sr. Catherine had a profound experience of faith while on a pilgrimage to Fatima but fell away from her faith while she attained a degree in photography from the Art Institute in Chicago. However, she was always pro-life and encountering a group of pro-life young people who were on a walk across America changed her life. Here she witnessed joyous, zealous Catholics whose love for Jesus really made a difference in their lives. When she encountered the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal at World Youth Day in Toronto, she felt the same attraction in her heart that she had felt for these young people. She joined the community in 2003.

Heaven, she says, is eternal glory. Winning a gold meal is only brief glory.