The National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations (NFCRV) has granted education debt assistance to six communities for 2020. Congratulations to these incoming religious!

1. Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate: Hien Nguyen 
2. Marist Brothers: Ryan Richter 
3. Daughters of Mary Salesians: Pamela Suresca 
4. Bernardine Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis: Mariette Jumet 
5. Carmelite Sisters: Catherine Bier 
6. Totus Tuus: Megan Christ

Read more about NFCRV.

Our 2020 Convocation will be a virtual gathering October 28-31, rather than a meeting in Spokane, Washington. Read more.

NRVC is delighted to announce that its publications, HORIZON and VISION,  won four awards from the Catholic Press Association in late June 2020. They were for best magazine, best review, and best feature article (two awards in best feature article). Read more.

The print edition of 2021 VISION Vocation Guide begins shipping in August, and the 2021 digital edition and VocationNetwork.org website went live August 3. If you haven't already ordered your 2021 VISION resources, you are encouraged to place your orders online for bookmarks, posters, and print copies. VISION editors ask those placing orders to please be patient with the mail delivery, which has been slowed by the pandemic. Read more.

NRVC is inviting members to provide feedback by mid-August about proposed Constitution changes that will be presented for a member vote at the virtual convocation taking place online October 29-31, 2020. The NRVC Board will meet in August to review the proposed changes, so please communicate with your NRVC member area coordinator with any feedback you may have. Further details and copies of the proposed changes are in the members-only area of nrvc.net. Login and read more.

NRVC has produced a guide for reflecting in community on the 2020 Study on Recent Vocations to Religious Life. Guides are just $6 each for members, $9 non-members. Learn more and/or purchase them at nrvc.net. NRVC extends a warm thank you to those who helped develop this resource: Father John Schork, C.M., Sisters Jessi Beck, P.B.V.M., Rosemary Casaleno, C.S.J., Ivette Diaz, R.S.M., Mary Finlayson, R.S.C.J., Bernadette McCauley, S.C.C., Helene Sharp, C.S.C., and Valerie Zottola, C.S.J. In addition to the study guide, NRVC has produced several downloadable resources on the study: an infographic, a study brochure, and a Role of Leadership in Vocation Ministry handout. Find the full study and all the accompanying resources here.

Over 200 people attended NRVC's online Summer INstitute, July 7-22, a large majority commending NRVC for the quality of the experience. Thirty-two new vocation directors were commissioned following the Orientation Program, and others explored ethics, psycho-sexual integration, generational, cultural, and psychological issues. In addition to praise for the presenters, participants appreciated the small group discussions and the chat room exchange of ideas. "This format proved to be energizing by being with so many wonderful people in vocation ministry," wrote one attendee.

The National Religious Vocation Conference is raising funds to help offer scholarships to religious institutes in financial need to become members and attend programs such as Summer INstitute and the 2020 Convocation. Please help us reach previous year levels of giving. Read more.

Sister Colleen Brady, O.S.F. belongs to the Franciscan Sisters of Allegheny. She has been the community's vocation-affiliate minister for six years and a member area coordinator for NRVC for two years for the Southeast Member Area.

How have you been serving during the pandemic?

I do Zoom meetings with various congregational committees.  I continue to connect with women who are searching out their vocation and with our affiliate in Virginia.  I've worked on a virtual meeting of the Southeast Member Area. I have also been making knotted rosaries for health care personnel as well as for family and friends.  Each knot is a prayer for the person for whom I am praying.  It has been an incredible experience for me and is a visible sign for those who receive a rosary.

How is your community's vocation  ministry set up?

Our vocation/formation team is basically only two of us, but we reach to other ministers for input.  We have a liaison with the leadership team.

Has belonging to NRVC aided your ministry?

I am very grateful to the NRVC team for everything that I have received, learned, experienced over the past years, beginning with the first convocation I attended. I was impressed by the speakers and was grateful to engage with others in the ministry.  I have formed significant friendships as a result of attending the convocations. I was, and continue to be, appreciative of all I was able to learn and for the fantastic resources received during the New Member Orientation.  I refer to the handbook often and quote it when interacting with the congregational leadership.  

Collaboration is a key component in this ministry and I was excited to be able to collaborate with other Franciscan congregations in developing advertising (full page ad in VISION) and in exhibiting at the NCYC and campus ministers gatherings. It is a good way to engage with the youth and get the flavor of the times.

Tell us a fun fact about you.

I see the world through the lens of humor and use humor to engage with others.  So many things delight and tickle me.

What inspires you most about religious life?

What inspires me about religious life today is the women and men who have given their whole lives to loving and serving. They are an example and model for me to aspire to as I go through my own journey.