Skip to content

100 years of prayer: The Pink Sisters work in shifts to continue a nonstop prayer lasting over a century

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes
'We try to be as simple as possible so we can focus on the Lord.'

Nuns wearing pink habits in Philadelphia's Chapel of Divine Love have held worked in shifts to hold a continual prayer spanning over 100 years and counting.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The cloistered nuns, known as the Pink Sisters, have seen their already small group dwindle in past years, leaving a second century of prayer uncertain.

In an attempt to gather more members, the Pink Sisters hung a banner outside their chapel and convent to advertise daily public Masses. They have also been interviewed several times and have invited Catholic women's organizations and schools to visit.

All conversations take place through the grill in the convent visiting room.

A recruitment flier hangs just inside the chapel's door, encouraging visitors to ask themselves:

"Do you love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you realize the power of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? Is Jesus calling you to say 'yes' to a life of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament?"

Fifty-five-year-old Sister Maria Clarissa shared: "We rarely reached out for vocation promotion before the centennial. But now we want young ladies to see how beautiful the life is and how truer the joy when it is without the trappings of material things."

Sister Maria Clarissa continued, saying, "We do our part in addressing these challenges, but at the same time, we leave it to the Lord. He's the one who calls."

The convent once boasted forty nuns, but there remain only 20 today. The eldest is ninety-years-old and the youngest is 52.

The order was founded in 1896 in Holland, where it focused on the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Their pink habits are symbolic of the joy they feel when honoring the Holy Spirit.

Sister Mary Angelica said she wants people to know there is always someone praying for them, "no matter what their need may be.

"We try to be as simple as possible so we can focus on the Lord," she added. "We are simple in everything, even meals - though on special occasions, we have ice cream."

In 1915, nine of the original nuns came to Philadelphia, where they opened the order's second convent. Today, there are 420 Holy Spirit Adoration sisters in twenty-two convents across 12 countries, with three in the United States.

The sisters have cloistered themselves within the convent, but leave for emergencies and medical appointments. When outside the convent, the Pink Sisters don grey clothing to keep from drawing too much attention to themselves.

The Pink Sisters pray before the Blessed Sacrament several hours each day individually, in groups and in shifts to ensure there is no time the prayers stop.

Each sister has a job ranging from creating Mass cards and rosaries to answering phones and responding to letters. For news, they receive newspapers to keep them up-to-date, but the papers do not include sports or entertainment sections.

The sisters enjoy one hour to themselves each day and are allowed to receive visits from family and friends three times each year.

---


'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'


Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Lent logo
Saint of the Day logo

We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.