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Holy Wonders

The Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, covers more square miles than any other diocese in the United States. Gracing the archdiocese are 46 nuns of 17 orders: Daughters of Charity, Little Sisters of Jesus, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, Holy Family Sisters, Mercy Sisters, Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Franciscans.

Worldwide, there are almost two sisters for every priest, deacon and brother on the planet. The median age of women religious everywhere is about 70. They are healers, teachers, organizers, scholars, pranksters, nurturers, innovators, writers, social workers, farmers, store clerks, parish administrators, artists, remarkable, hilarious, holy. They work in food banks and hospitals and schools and cloisters and parishes.

I have met sisters here whose first languages were Gaelic, Japanese, and French. I have met sisters who grew up in Sri Lanka and Guadalajara. I met a sister who was a chemical engineer before she took vows. I met a sister who was so beloved by the Tlingit people that she was adopted by their Raven clan and given a new name. I have met sisters who worked on Kodiak island and islands in the Bering Sea, in Nome, and in remote Yupik villages.

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