The Sister Servants of the Eternal Word are a new community of religious women in Irondale, Alabama, founded by Mother Mary Gabriel in 1987 with the apostolate of retreats and catechesis.  Before founding their community, Mother Mary Gabriel was a Dominican Sister of the Congregation of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee.  She taught and administered schools at both the elementary and high school levels and served as vicar of her community, all of which prepared her for the joys and the crosses that are inevitable when beginning a new foundation.

Recognizing that there is a great need in our time for catechesis and also for places that foster greater union with Our Lord through prayer, their community presents retreats in their Casa Maria Retreat House, offering formation in the Catholic Faith within the context of beautiful liturgies and Eucharistic devotion.  The truths of the Faith are authentically taught and ample opportunities are offered for reception of the sacraments and prayer, including daily Mass and the Rosary, as well as time for private prayer.  They also operate a bookstore, providing educational and inspirational Catholic materials and religious items.

The members of the community wear the habit as a visible sign of consecration and as a witness to the life of poverty.  Their habit reflects their Franciscan and Dominican heritage, consisting of a long white tunic with a brown cape, scapular, and veil.  They wear a rope cincture with three knots on their right side symbolizing their three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (as worn by St. Francis) and a fifteen-decade rosary at their left side in honor of the Dominican tradition of praying the Holy Rosary.  They also wear a crucifix on a cord around their necks, so that, as Mother Mary Gabriel has said, “No one can look at us without thinking of Christ.”

They are eagerly awaiting the completion of the fourth and final phase of their building project, which will most importantly include their long-awaited large chapel. With 20 sisters in permanent vows and 5 in temporary vows, they will welcome the larger space in which to worship Our Lord.

Mother Mary Gabriel passed on to her eternal reward on July 23^rd, 2017.  When she was asked about her numerous accomplishments, studies, and her earned degrees, she simply replied, “The letters after your name are worthless without the ‘st’ [Saint] before it.“