Dominican Sisters Immaculate Conception Province

[Ceaseless-Longing]

Hello everyone! I've creeped on this website for a couple years now, created an account and promptly forgot, but continued to read everything going on (I was also on tumblr for a long time with this user name but deleted it last year). I decided to reactivate because I recently I went on a TOTALLY amesome retreat with the Dominican Sisters Immaculate Conception Province (sistersop.com). I had pushed aside my discernment thoughts for some time (having been experiencing a dark night of the soul) and just wasn't myself. Around Advent I decided that I was so tired of this emptiness and had decided to fulfill a promise to visit one more religious order. (I had visited a religious order once before on a vocations retreat with a friend--she is now a novice with the community!) So by chance I heard about this retreat on the only weekend I was free for quite some time and in a very unlike me manner, I set off for a city I had never been to so I could visit an order of sisters I had never heard of and was excited for the whole thing. I had expected/hope that this retreat would be sort of a one time thing, push me towards marriage and all that jazz, but instead I spent the whole time absolutely loving the sisters and the community. I took a few weeks to pray on the retreat, speak with my permanent deacon (he's been at my home parish for a long time) and try to discern if this was a retreat-high or a persistent desire to visit with the sisters more. While I can't say what my vocation is either way, I am so excited to plan a trip for their formation house and spend a week with them!

I'm posting here for two reasons:

1. These sisters were originally founded in Poland and are mostly in the Midwest in the US. Is anyone more familiar with them? I had, as I mentioned, never heard of them before.

2. I'm excited about these sisters and figured this forum would understand that!

[BarbTherese]

http://www.sistersop.com/

[Ceaseless-Longing]

I appreciate the link but I provided it in the original post, even though I didn't hyperlink it. I just thought people might have some personal antidotes.

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

Yes! For some reason they haven't been well-known. I met one of their Polish sisters at an international Dominican meeting in 2000 and that is how I found out about them.
I really encourage you to continue discerning with them!

[truthfinder]

Hello and welcome!

Oddly enough, there was a convent of these sisters a few blocks from where I lived a few years ago.  They ran a daycare.  They were associated with the Polish church in town and therefore us non-Polish speakers didn't seem to know them as well.  But I did see them around in the habits running errands and they always seemed lovely.  Not a lot of help but that's my experience with these sisters. 

[be_thou_my_vision]

I met these sisters a couple of times when I was a sister. They are wonderful! A couple of American women joined a few years ago and have persevered (I believe they are in temporary vows) but they were the first American women to join them after being in the states for many years... I am thinking something like 50 years in the US.

Anyway, they are very liked among other religious communities and every sister I have met has been joyful and humble. 

Ooops, nope, they've been in the US for 85 years, not 50