Franciscan Novice In Seventeen Magazine Years Ago

[Cherie]

This is a long shot, but I figured the PMers here would know more than anyone else.

Many years ago--I want to say around 2001 or 2002, maybe even earlier, but definitely not after 2003--Seventeen magazine (yes, that trashy magazine for teens) featured a surprisingly positive article on a young Sister. She was a novice, I believe in a Franciscan Order. Something like the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration (similar habit). One of the pictures featured her and the other novice praying the rosary while walking through the convent cemetery. I think the Sister may have been a redhead.

Does anyone know of the article? Does anyone know of the Sister featured, and if she is still with the community?

Google searches turned up nothing.

[dymphnamaria]

Interesting! I have to look for that issue.

[deusluxmea]

I remember! She was a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity. I don't know if she continues to be a member of this community. 

[dymphnamaria]

I remember! She was a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity. I don't know if she continues to be a member of this community. 

 

Do you have the copy of that issue?

[dymphnamaria]

Are you sure the magazine was Seventeen? The Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity was featured in Time Magazine last 2007. 

[Feankie]

I'm sure all those old magazines are either saved in hard copies or perhaps microfiched.

[maximillion]

Is it still in print? Call the mag and ask.

[MarysLittleFlower]

Interesting! not something I've ever seen - or expected to see, in a popular teen magazine

[deusluxmea]

It was definitely Seventeen and the cover headline was "I am Going to Marry God". Never had a copy and I can't find it online. I bet the Sisters would know where to find the article. 

[DameAgnes]

reminds me of this http://nunsopsummit.org/archives/3559

[nikita92]

I have to put my 2 cents in here! I currently own 2 issues of SEVENTEEN magazine dated November 1973 and 1974. I started high school in 1973 as a Freshman. I read Seventeen every single year, until 1976 when I turned 18. Reviewing both these "old" mags.. I don't and never did consider them to be "Trashy"!! Maybe now and some years back.. They have turned that way... But not then! It is unusual for the media to have ever given any exposure to religious vocations back in the day!! I wish they would have!! I will also do some research to help find out this curious mystery!

[nikita92]

Here is a start.. Not exactly what you were looking for.. But I'm still looking..September 3, 2004
Seventeen magazine, the girls' fashion bible, gets religion

By RACHEL ZOLL
NEW YORK - Faiza worships five times a day, while Rhianna is as likely to believe in God as in the Easter Bunny. Kristin prays too, but to the God and the Goddess.

This teenage religion debate can be found on the pages of a magazine better known for explaining how to match lipstick to blush - not exploring the concept of a higher power.

But under editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein, the venerable girls' publication Seventeen has added a faith section that includes inspirational messages, personal stories of spiritual struggle and testimonials on issues ranging from prayer to gay teens who attend church.

The content is serious. Verses from the New Testament are printed beside sayings from the Prophet Muhammad. The teachings of Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama are also featured.

Rubenstein said she started the section not to spread a religious message, but to provide a forum on an issue she believes is important to this generation of girls.

"I feel, and had sensed that my readers felt, that there was an entire magazine that wasn't speaking to a part of them," Rubenstein said. "I just noticed more and more our readers were talking about their faith."

Experts on religion and youth trends agree. They theorize that teens are rebelling against the broad, undefined spirituality of their baby-boomer parents, and are seeking out environments - like those in church - with clearer rules that help them cope with day-to-day problems.

In a recent study by Teenage Research Unlimited, a market research firm in Northbrook, Ill., 58 percent of teens ranked faith as among the most important parts of their life, said Michael Wood, the company's vice president. Still, he knew of no other teen fashion magazine with a religion section.

Rubenstein, who was the founding editor of CosmoGirl!, said she first proposed a faith section several years ago when she was just starting out in magazine publishing. The response from the other editors, she said, was that a fashion magazine was no place for God.

A year ago, she took over at Seventeen with a mandate to revamp the publication and she revived the religion idea. For guidance, she formed an interfaith advisory board that includes an evangelical Christian preacher, a priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, a Reform Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist teacher, an Episcopal youth minister and two Muslims.

The only nationally known member is Irshad Manji, author of "The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in her Faith," who has won several awards for her popular book, but has also become a target for criticism by some conservative Muslim leaders.

Rubenstein, whose mostly beige office is punctuated with bright pink chairs and zebra pillows, said she considers herself spiritual. She was raised Muslim, the daughter of Iranian immigrants, and said she prays for help and inspiration in difficult times.

"It's a part of my life that is important," she said. "Yes, I'm into fashion. Yes, I'm into makeup, but at the same time my faith is very important to me."

The section debuted in August, and Rubenstein said the reader response has been mostly positive so far, with a few of the more religious readers complaining about some testimonials from skeptics. In the first issue, the section came just after a detailed article on contraception, which Rubenstein called "a very modern and realistic" presentation.

A companion Web site, seventeen.com/reallife/bigquestion, lets teens post comments on whether they pray. More than 1,800 people have responded so far.

Wood said the broad approach fits with the direction of Seventeen. While other teen fashion magazines have a niche, Seventeen wants to appeal to all girls, he said. The August edition had articles on the presidential election, health and facing hardships, along with fashion advice.

"It's not necessarily taking a strong position but raising lots of questions that girls are probably wrestling with themselves and sharing different points of view," Wood said. "I think it plays well into this whole theme of diversity."

But the Rev. Christopher Robinson, a DePaul University professor who researches religion in the media, said the section was less interesting than some other pop-culture treatment of faith, such as the hit CBS show "Joan of Arcadia," about a teenage girl who talks to a God who takes the form of random people.

"My impression is it gives you a nice feeling to ask these questions, but it makes no demands on you at all," Robinson said of the magazine. "It's fun to hear about what other people think about God. It doesn't call me to make a stand."

Laurie Whaley, of the division of Thomas Nelson publishers that created Revolve, a top-selling Bible for girls that looks like a fashion magazine, said she was impressed that Seventeen was addressing religion in any form. She predicted it would attract readers.

"The teen culture today, they're very, very much about faith," Whaley said. "I think it's appropriate to have a faith section regardless of what your periodical is about."

[maximillion]

If only the same happened and was written in a teen mag today.......

[Cherie]

I have to put my 2 cents in here! I currently own 2 issues of SEVENTEEN magazine dated November 1973 and 1974. I started high school in 1973 as a Freshman. I read Seventeen every single year, until 1976 when I turned 18. Reviewing both these "old" mags.. I don't and never did consider them to be "Trashy"!! Maybe now and some years back.. They have turned that way... But not then! It is unusual for the media to have ever given any exposure to religious vocations back in the day!! I wish they would have!! I will also do some research to help find out this curious mystery!

 

Yes, they are, unfortunately, quite trashy. From the time my sister (born 1979) started to read them in her teenage years, they've promoted the culture of casual sex and promiscuity. I'm sure the older ones were different, but in recent years, they are along the lines of a teenage Cosmopolitan.

 

DeusLuxMea, you have an excellent memory! That is indeed the title of the piece; I hadn't remembered that until you mentioned it. Glad to know someone else knows what I'm talking about!

[deusluxmea]

yeah I was a bit freaked out that I remembered so much, perhaps I need to get out more!!