Threshold Winter 2009

Transfer Brings Sister Sheila Back to Roots

When Sister Sheila Carroll was a young woman in Lillis, Kansas, she found herself attracted to the Rule of St. Benedict and became a Benedictine oblate at age 22. At the same time, she felt a vocation to religious life and, although familiar with the Benedictine way, chose to become a member of the Sisters of St. Francis in Denver.

While living a more apostolic life, the love for monastic spirituality never left her and continued to be a strong element of her life. She gradually felt more called to the monastic way of life, explaining, “I have always had a great love of the contemplative life and the regular prayer schedule observed by monastics. This is a community that’s here for one another and also reaches out. The hospitality and prayer are second to none.”

After several years of living with Benedictine sisters in Oklahoma and Atchison, she asked to transferred to the Mount, “The sisters of my former community understand and have been extremely supportive,” she remarked as several of them witnessed her monastic profession at the Sunday Eucharist on August 2.

Sister Sheila has done extensive study and graduate work in the field of spirituality, especially on the topic of women mystics. She works at Sophia Center, giving retreats and assisting with its programs for local women in the Atchison Connection.

Above: Sister Sheila signs her monastic profession at the altar, witnessed by Sister Anne.

Deeper Roots for Sister Christine

Sister Christine Dormann was welcomed into her canonical year as a novice on August 1. A native of Florida, she began her monastic journey with the sisters at Red Plains in Oklahoma. When the community merged with Mount St. Scholastica, she came to Atchison to continue her postulancy.

After a year, she decided to move forward, saying, “I am delighted to be received into the novitiate. I thank God for giving me a monastic vocation and bringing me to this community.” The sisters supported her in her desire and offered their blessing upon this special year of study and prayer.

Sister Christine (center) receives a blessing from her director,
Sister Cecilia Olson (left), Sister Anne, and the assembly.