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Religious Orders W/ Apostolic In Social Work


OnlySunshine

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Just out of curiosity, are there any habited orders that are loyal to Holy Mother Church in all ways whose main apostolate is social work? I am not discerning at this time, but I may again in the future and I was curious about this. I emailed the Little Sisters of the Poor to ask if any of their Sisters are social workers, but I have not heard back from them. I have also performed searches on IRL and CMSWR with no luck. :(

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[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='31 January 2010 - 10:07 AM' timestamp='1264925241' post='2048143']
Just out of curiosity, are there any habited orders that are loyal to Holy Mother Church in all ways whose main apostolate is social work? [/quote]
What do you mean with social work? Teaching? Nursing? Caring the olders etc?
I would say the Little Sisters of the poors DO social work.
Also Missionaries of charity, salesians and many other orders...

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JMJ
The Sisters of Social Justic in Hungary (yeah, I can't think of any in the US) now wear a type of uniform and veil. I am not to optimistic on that there would be any, since social justice, social work, etc, seems like it came out of V2.

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TeresaBenedicta

Daughters of Charity do social work, I think. They have a place in DC where they house orphans, and young women with babies who have nowhere else to go.

They're not [i]fully[/i] habited, although I think some sisters choose to where the habit.

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There would be room for social work in any order that sponsors hospitals (that's a specialized field of social work but it's social work nonetheless), nursing homes, orphanages (these days, there aren't as many "orphanages" as there used to be, but essentially the same work is done in boys'/girls' homes), and I should think with pro-life ministries that help battered women.

The orders I know of that engage in this work include: Many orders sponsor hospitals and nursing homes. The Religious of the Good Shepherd sponsor live-in shelters for abused children (usually girls but maybe not always). The Sisters of Christian Charity used to sponsor orphanages, but I don't know what their involvement is now. The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul and the Religious Sisters of Mercy have been involved in a wide spectrum of social services. The Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus sponsor nursing homes, and the Franciscans of the Martyr St. George (or St. George the Martyr - I never can keep it straight) also sponsor nursing homes. And you've already mentioned the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Of these orders, I know that the Franciscans of St. George, the Carmelites DCJ, and the Little Sisters of the Ppor all wear habits. Some provinces of the RSMs and DCs might also. I'm not sure about the SCCs.

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Check out the Carmelite sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus who have sisters as Social Workers and Nurses too.

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Sister Rose Therese

Our community, the [url="http://www.franciscansisterspeoria.org/"]Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis[/url], runs hospitals and a nursing home. We always need social workers in the hospitals. We have one sisters in socil work right now.

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laetitia crucis

I also second the Religious Sisters of Mercy (Alma), the Carmelite DCJs, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (aka the Alton Franciscans), and the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. Here are some websites:

- [url="http://www.rsmofalma.org/"]Religious Sisters of Mercy[/url] (Alma, MI)
- [url="http://www.parishvisitorsisters.org/"]Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate[/url]
- [url="http://www.altonfranciscans.org/"]The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George[/url]
- Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus
[list]
[*][url="http://www.carmelitedcjnorth.org/"]Northern Province[/url]
[*] [url="http://www.carmelitedcj.org/"]Central Province[/url]
[*] [url="http://www.carmeldcj.org/"]Southwestern Province[/url][/list]

The first order that came to my mind when you mentioned social work was the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma. :smokey:

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The [url="http://www.daughters-of-divine-love.org/"]Daughters of Divine Love[/url] have social work as one of their apostolates. In [url="http://www.daughtersofdivinelove.org.uk/"]the UK[/url], they run various training courses in health and social care.

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Thank you for your help. I have decided to contact another order (not mentioned for privacy), but I will look up those suggested. Please let me know if you can think of anymore. God bless!

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[quote name='organwerke' date='31 January 2010 - 07:50 AM' timestamp='1264942253' post='2048185']
What do you mean with social work? Teaching? Nursing? Caring the olders etc?
I would say the Little Sisters of the poors DO social work.
Also Missionaries of charity, salesians and many other orders...
[/quote]

What I meant was more along the lines of counseling and spiritual direction. There have been many post-Vatican 2 changes to several communities that focus more on activism and lobbying and I'm not interested in that. Working with the poor and impoverished (physically and spiritually) is what I feel called to do. :)

Also, I'm not interested in teaching orders. I don't mind doing religious education, but teaching is not one of my strengths. It's cool, because no one is good in everything. :cool:

Edited by MaterMisericordiae
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laetitia crucis

[quote]What I meant was more along the lines of counseling and spiritual direction. There have been many post-Vatican 2 changes to several communities that focus more on activism and lobbying and I'm not interested in that. Working with the poor and impoverished (physically and spiritually) is what I feel called to do. [/quote]

I wanted to expand a little bit on the Religious Sisters of Mercy about that. :) Two weeks ago I met someone that had worked really closely with these Sisters and lived at one of their retreat houses for an extended period of time. This person told me that the Sisters do a LOT of work with counseling (especially counseling other Religious, which I think is SO great!) and spiritual direction. I don't believe this is mentioned on their website, at least I didn't see it anywhere. :topsy:

During my first few years discerning, I had written these Sisters and received a good deal of information in return. Their main apostolate is medical oriented, but they definitely cover all areas, including counseling, and yes, even spiritual direction (perhaps medicine for the soul!) -- which really peaked my interest (counseling and spiritual direction). :)) And well... to my knowledge they do have a really broad apostolate. I met one Sister a few years ago in Washington, D.C. that was getting her Ph. D in Music Performance (the MARIMBA!! :woot: ). At the time I was a religious Sister with another Order, and being that I had recently graduated with a Bachelor's in Music Performance, I must admit I had a little heart palpitation after hearing that. :hehe: (And a little tinge of holy envy... heheheh.)

Anyhoo. Just wanted to pass along that information. I think if I didn't find the Order I'm currently discerning with, then I'd probably be checking out the RSMs. :twothumbsup:

Oh, and I love what you said about not being called to a teaching Order -- my sentiments exactly. :D (But, boy, am I SO grateful that there are those called to that very much needed apostolate! Praise God!) :teach:

God bless,
lc

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[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='02 February 2010 - 07:45 AM' timestamp='1265114732' post='2049631']
I wanted to expand a little bit on the Religious Sisters of Mercy about that. :) Two weeks ago I met someone that had worked really closely with these Sisters and lived at one of their retreat houses for an extended period of time. This person told me that the Sisters do a LOT of work with counseling (especially counseling other Religious, which I think is SO great!) and spiritual direction. I don't believe this is mentioned on their website, at least I didn't see it anywhere. :topsy:

During my first few years discerning, I had written these Sisters and received a good deal of information in return. Their main apostolate is medical oriented, but they definitely cover all areas, including counseling, and yes, even spiritual direction (perhaps medicine for the soul!) -- which really peaked my interest (counseling and spiritual direction). :)) And well... to my knowledge they do have a really broad apostolate. I met one Sister a few years ago in Washington, D.C. that was getting her Ph. D in Music Performance (the MARIMBA!! :woot: ). At the time I was a religious Sister with another Order, and being that I had recently graduated with a Bachelor's in Music Performance, I must admit I had a little heart palpitation after hearing that. :hehe: (And a little tinge of holy envy... heheheh.)

Anyhoo. Just wanted to pass along that information. I think if I didn't find the Order I'm currently discerning with, then I'd probably be checking out the RSMs. :twothumbsup:

Oh, and I love what you said about not being called to a teaching Order -- my sentiments exactly. :D (But, boy, am I SO grateful that there are those called to that very much needed apostolate! Praise God!) :teach:

God bless,
lc
[/quote]

That's good to know. I honestly thought they were only active as a medical community from the vocation information I received from them in Dec. 2008. Nowhere on their website does it mention other apostolates. :saint:

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