The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-29

Sister Sienna, the sweet-faced sister
superior of Saint Mary's academy
said this with a smile of amusement
unmixed with any bitterness. She had
been talking of the life of the religuese
as it is and as it is regarded by many.
Tt is really amusing that people
who are otherwise well informed be-
heve such absurd stories of the
sisters she continued. 1.-The idea of
! anyone being conducted by a Carmel
lite nun into the presence of the
head of THE order or anyone else is a
great albsurdity. The Carmelite is one
of the strictest Of the religious orders
and to one at all acquainted with it's
! requirements, such a fancy is ridicu-
lous.''
Fiction Much to Blame.
Fiction is much TO blame for the
! fallacious ideas about the sisterhood.
For instance it is an unfailing re-
quirement that the life of a candidate
for the veil is. and has been, ire
proachable. This extends beyond the
candidate to her parents. 1 have in
mind now the case of a young woman
in Indiana who desired to become a
'religeuse.' Her father had been con-
victed of murder and was serving his
sentence in the state penitentiary. She
went to a distant state and applied
for admission to an order, but the
careful investigation that followed
brought to light her fathers sin and
Notwithstanding the nobility of the
| girl and the immaculateness of her
own Life she was refused admittance.
1t would have impaired her influence
| and usefulness in the sisterhood were
the sad story known. And yet we are
| told that fallen women who have re-
formed become sisters. That is a
great mistake. None but those whose
lives have been irreproachable can
| join religious order
II have been told that a novel by a
local author describes the life OF a
sister who was the guardian angel.
the Florence Nightingale, of west
| ern mining camp. l would not say
that it was impossible that one sister
should go on such a mission Of mercy
alone, but 1 will say it is highly i'm
probable. You will notice that you
seldom see one alone. 1t is the custom
! to go out in company with each other"
Forty-Eight Noble Women.
The speaker is one of a company OF
forty-eight women living in this city,
whose daily life is a constant re-
buke to every form of selfishness.
Occasionally you see two. or three OF
| UQGIn OH the SlTGel, always
on their errand. which, whatever it
may be, never has self-gratification as
an object. They are always attired
alike, in black serge gowns with
capes of the same material, large flow
ing sleeves, white collar, fiuted cap
and coifette, or band across the fore
head. a black veil is an indispensable
adjunct of the prescribed costume or
habit" A blue cord and tassel, used
| Gil ri on
which is a has relief of the Virgin
Mary, her heart pierced by seven ar
rows representing THE seven dolores"
or sorrows, and an inscription Our
Lady of Sorrows" are known as the
insignia of the profession" But If 1t
were not for the quaint costumes, the
modest demeanor and THE perfect re
pose of features and manner would
distinctively mark these forty-eight
women as sisters of the Holy Cross.
The Order Founded in France
Seventy years ago the order was
founded in France and it has since ex-
tended to this country and Canada.
There are more than forty institutions
of this order in the United States,
Washington, D. c., Alexandra, Balti-
more, Lancaster, Pa, San Francisco.
Fresno, Woodlawn, Cal, and Boise
being among the points wnere these
are located. Texas has three such in
stitutions, and Utah six. Saint Mary S
academy, the hospital of the Holy
Cross and Saint AIMS Orphanage, of
Salt Lake city, the Sacred Heart
academy at ogden, and similar insti-
buttons at Park City and Eureka COM
prise those of Utah.
Daily Life of the Sisters.
That the daily life of the sisters is
one of devotion to duty, that it is de-
void of the luxuries strewn in the
path of many women, goes without
saying, but that it is a life of sad
ness all who know them will deny.
| mo long-faced school girl ever be-
| came a num-" said a smiling sister to
me- .It is the gay but not flippant
| girls who join the sisterhood," Early
| rising, early mass, early breakfast,
followed by strict attention to the al
lotted stint of the day, varied only by
| the two other meals and a brief time
of recreation constitute the changeless
routine. 1t may be that the duty Is
caring for the sick, it may be teaching
the young, but it is one that must not
be shirked. Yet except in the case of
! those who have supervision of an in
stitution these sisters are singularly
free from care. I'VE have taken a
VOW of perpetual poverty" said Sister
Sienna, consequently we have abso-
lutely nothing beside the clothing,
| food and shelter we share in common.
! OF the twenty-six sisters at Saint
Mary's I am the only one who needs
to give a thought to meeting bills or
to general management"
why Women Become Nuns.
I looked about the sister superior's
office which though faultlessly neat,
had many suggestions of austerMy,
| distinguishing it from the cosy sur
roundings women love, and said:
why do young women become nuns %
The answer was smiling one. as
were all the remarks that preceded it.
Because they believe they are called
of God to that kind of service. We be-
lieve in vocation; that is, that God has
destined us for some particular H-e
work, and we who are religious think
we were called to labor in this part of
the Masters vineyard"
Step By Step.
| She explained that a probation of
| nearly six years is required before a
candidate can take the final vows
Should a young woman, provided she
| is not less than 16 nor more than %
years of age, conclude that she wished
| to join a religious order, she would
signify that wish to her spiritual di-
rector or confessor. He would be a
| better judge of her fitness for the vo-
cation than she herself. If he believed
her called to that work, she would then
be subjected to a rigid examination as
to her spiritual state, the list of ques-
lions to be provided by church author
| tiles. If the examination is satisfac-
tory, she goes to what is known as the
l