Young women considering the vocation of religious life will have an opportunity this spring break to travel to various religious communities for thoughtful reflection.
“The Nun Run is an opportunity for young women who are discerning a call to religious life to actually go and visit various different religious communities to see what their life is like,” Sr. Maria Gemma Salyer, who deals with women's vocations for Campus Ministry, said.
Sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Nun Run allows women to visit religious communities near Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis to learn more about life as a woman religious.
“This trip was inspired by some of the students who expressed an interest in visiting some communities which otherwise they would not have the opportunity to visit,” Salyer said.
After experiencing great success in the trip's first year, Salyer said she is looking forward to the second annual trip.
“Last year was our first year for the Nun Run — we went out east to New York and Connecticut," she said. "This year I chose a different route to expose the young women to different communities, and many young women are specifically interested in communities which are located in these areas."
According to Salyer, the opportunity has encouraged women to strongly consider and even join these religious communities.
“Our Nun Run last year was a great success. One of the young women will be entering a community this fall, while I know of a few others who are seriously considering entering other communities. I really look forward to introducing people to religious life,” she said. “It is also a great opportunity to get to know each other and share one another's journey.”
Salyer, who is originally from Ohio, said she looks forward visiting a wide variety of places in this year's trip.
“We’ll be going to Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker, Passionist Nuns, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph, Missionaries of Charity, Holy Spirit Nuns, Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George and the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago, just to name a few,” Salyer said.
Although she is the Assistant Director of Vocations for the Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Mishawaka, Salyer encourages anyone who is even slightly interested in the vocation to go on the trip to learn more about different religious groups.
“Even if someone does not know if they are discerning a religious vocation or not, this is an awesome opportunity to grow in your faith and to make some good friendships which will last over the years,” she said. “The beauty of a Nun Run is that you really get exposed to all different types of religious life, which will help when it comes time to make a decision.”
