(Sister Mary Angela went to heaven on April 5, 2020.) Ursuline Sister Mary Angela Matthews had a feeling God was calling her. “I was going to do something special for God, but I didn’t know what,” she said. Her lack of clarity was easily explainable – she’d only just made her first Communion. Through her…
Vocation Stories
Every Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph was called by God to consecrated life. But how each of them heard that call is unique. You can learn their vocation stories below.
My Vocation Story – Sister Marietta Wethington
(Sister Marietta went to heaven on May 26, 2022.) Sister Marietta Wethington’s mother never asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. “My mother was a very spiritual woman and she encouraged spirituality in us,” Sister Marietta said. “She taught me to pray about my vocation. She said, ‘Ask what God wants…
My Vocation Story – Sister Clara Reid
(Sister Clara went to heaven on Dec. 29, 2019.) When Ursuline Sister Clara Reid was 8 or 9 years old, she was walking along the sidewalk at her school where she would soon cross paths with her teachers, who were all Ursuline Sisters. “I remember saying to my friend Margaret Mary, ‘When I get older,…
My Vocation Story – Sister Marian Powers
(Sister Marian went to heaven on Nov. 27, 2017.) From the time she was 6 years old, Ursuline Sister Marian Powers and her family lived just a few blocks from St. Rose of Lima Church in Cloverport, Ky., overlooking the Ohio River. “Mom said at least one member of the family had to be at…
My Vocation Story – Sister Marie Michael Hayden
(Sister Marie Michael went to heaven on June 13, 2018.) As a child growing up on a farm in the middle of a big family, Frances Helene Hayden never imagined her future in a religious community. “I was going to grow up and get married and have a houseful of children,” Sister Marie Michael says…
My Vocation Story – Sister Alfreda Malone
(Sister Alfreda went to heaven on Feb. 13, 2021.) Ursuline Sister Alfreda Malone knew from the fifth grade on that she would someday become a woman religious. It was the “when” that was in question. From 1942-48, the woman born Crystal Malone in the tiny community of St. Joseph in Marion County, Ky., worked as…
My Vocation Story – Sister Pauletta McCarty
(Sister Pauletta went to heaven on April 7, 2018.) Ursuline Sister Pauletta McCarty had an aunt who was a Sister of Mercy, a great aunt who was a Sister of Loretto and a paternal aunt who was a Poor Clare. But there was never any doubt which religious community she would join. “I came to…
My Vocation Story – Sister Marie Brenda Vowels
(Sister Marie Brenda went to heaven on July 27, 2018.) If it weren’t for a fire at Vine Grove (Ky.) High School in the early 1940s, it’s possible Frances Marie Vowels may have never become Ursuline Sister Marie Brenda Vowels. The fire caused her to attend Flaherty Public School her senior year, where Ursuline Sisters…
My Vocation Story – Sister Marie William Blyth
(Sister Marie William went to heaven on March 10, 2019.) If it weren’t for a high school scrapbook project, Sister Marie William Blyth might not be an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph today. Raised in Denver, Sister Marie William was taught by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. “I admired them, I wanted to…
My Vocation Story – Sister Marcella Schrant
(Sister Marcella went to heaven on Sept. 25, 2021.) Ursuline Sister Marcella Schrant wanted to become a secretary when she was a senior in high school. It only took 62 years to get her wish. In those intervening years she became an Ursuline Sister of Paola, Kan., and following a merger in 2008, an Ursuline…