GALLERY: World Day of Consecrated Life

Religious brothers and sisters gathered for Mass at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh on Sunday to mark World Day of Consecrated life.

In his homily, Archbishop Cushley said: "They have dedicated themselves to a life of perfect charity, of complete and single-minded focus on living a life dedicated to the Lord.

"Let's keep them in our prayers and let's pray for vocations to the religious life."

In the Archdiocese there are 12 Institutes of Consecrated Life (and Societies of Apostolic Life) for men and 15 for women.

View them on this website under at the Vocations tab ('Religious Life') here.

If you are interested in exploring the religious life, please email religiousvocations@staned.org.uk

Gallery

Religious Sisters holding candles at the beginning of Holy Mass.
Centre, Sr Karin Hugens FSO and Sr Mirjam Hugens FSO, of The Spiritual Family The Work, Edinburgh, at Holy Mass.
The Missionaries of Charity (Edinburgh) with Fr Michael Downie of Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw (Haddington, left), and Fr Ray Warren OMI (St Mary's, Star of the Sea, Leith).
Religious Sisters of Mercy, Lauriston, with two members of the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
The Carmelites (Bathgate).
The Ursulines of Jesus, who are based in Rumford, near Falkirk, with lay members, as well as Mairi Clunas OCV (second from right). Sr Kathleen Curran UJ (centre left) is the President of the CRS Conference of Religious of Scotland.
Discalced Carmelites, Dysart, Fife.
A sister from the Missionaries of Charity, says the bidding prayers at Mass.
Archbishop Cushley with Sr Aurora, a member of the Servidoras (Lochgelly, Fife).
Sr Miriam Fidelis Reed RSM (left) and Sr Miriam Ruth Ryan RSM with Fr Davide Radaelli from the Oratory Project at St Patrick's, Edinburgh, Mgr Jeremy Milne, Administrator of St Mary's Cathedral and Fr Binu Palakkapilly.

 

Archdiocese welcomes RSM Sisters to Edinburgh!

The Archdiocese has welcomed two Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM) to Edinburgh!

Sr Edith Mary RSM and Sr Anna Marie RSM, recently arrived from America to contribute to the work of the Archdiocese. They join Sr Mary Pierre, our Director of Property, at St Andrew's Convent, Ravelston.

Sr Edith Mary (main pic, right) will work as the Clergy Welfare Co-ordinator, assisting the retired priests of the Archdiocese.

She was born and raised in Redding, California, and prior to entering the religious life in 1998 was a physical therapist. She has a doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine, has worked in emergency medicine and served as the director of emergency and trauma services for a rural hospital. In 2020, Sr Edith Mary was made a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Medicine.

Sr Anna Marie will be working in catechesis and faith formation. She grew up near Chicago and entered the religious life in 2003.

She said: "I didn’t finish college before entering, so I did my STB (Sacred Theology) in Rome, along with a licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. I enjoy hiking, baseball, biking, history, languages, and learning...I’m an avid reader!"

Sr Mary Simone RSM has returned to Rome to continues her studies. She is a familiar and friendly face to many people in the dioceses, having worked for the past year at St Mary's Cathedral.  Sister Miriam Fidelis RSM will be replacing her soon.

Find out more about The Religious Sisters of Mercy, of Alma Michigan, here.

Archbishop praises religious sisters on Feast of Assumption

The work and spiritual life of women religious in our diocese has been praised by Archbishop Cushley on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Speaking in his homily at online Mass  he said: “Like our Blessed Lady, our religious women say a perfect and complete ‘yes’ to God when prompted by His inspiration. They bear Christ to the world in their own flesh, by their words, by their actions and by their love for everyone."

There are 16 different female religious orders in our diocese and the Archbishop asked for prayers for a local woman who enters a convent today.

He added: "Many women’s religious congregations have the Feast of the Assumption as the moment when young women enter religious life, take the veil, take their first vows and even profess solemn vows as nuns and religious. It is a beautiful thought to recall how our nuns associate themselves with Our Blessed Lady, assumed into heaven on the day that they give themselves to religious life."

"They follow Christ on His missionary journeys, like Mary they listen to Him, seated at His feet, like Martha they serve Him cheerfully and willingly, like Our Lady they suffer with Jesus as He hangs upon the cross. Like Mary Magdalene they keep vigil with Him in death, they welcome the Risen Lord when He appears, and they hope to reign joyfully with Him one day in the presence of Our Lady and all the saints in heaven.

"As we remember the Assumption of Our Lady today, as she falls asleep and is welcomed into paradise by her Son, we remember all the people of our diocese dedicated to Her, we remember in particular our children, their teachers and all our religious woman – our nuns – as they seek to imitate Our Lady in her love, her patience, in her sorrows and in her joys.”

Read Archbishop Cushley's full homily here.