850 PM Sisters throughout the world on four continents and in 19 countries:
The Americas: Canada, United States, Peru, Brazil
Europe: France, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy
Africa: Senegal, Gambia, Gana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mozambique
Eurasia: Japan, Philippines
In Western Canada we live and work in Saskatchewan performing a range of ministries including parish work, reconciliation with indigenous, education, health care, prison ministry, youth ministry and working with immigrants… We also have Western Canadian members ministering in Peru, Italy and The Gambia.
Why do you call yourselves Prince Albert province?
Our Congregation is divided into administrative regions called provinces and regions based largely on geography. In Canada, we have two provinces: The Quebec Province and the Prince Albert province.
The age limit is to be discussed with the Provincial and General Superior. Young women who want to join the PM’s spend some time getting to know the Sisters at the Discernment House in Saskatoon, SK. It is a time of mutual acquaintance between the Institute and the candidate as well as a time of preparation for the unique experience of the novitiate. The age limit depends on the person’s maturity. A vocation to religious life is sustainable only if there is a certain level of human and spiritual maturity.
If you do not already live in Canada, we suggest that you contact us and we will help to connect you to the Presentation of Mary community in your home country or in the country nearest you. If you would like to live and minister in Canada, we suggest that you establish yourself in Canada and then contact us.
Yes, the person can still join the PM sisters. If she is divorced than she has to have an annulment of her marriage before she can become a postulant. If the candidate is a widow or someone who has obtained a marriage annulment and all the canonical conditions are met than she is welcome in our congregation.
What a Sister of the Presentation of Mary does with her day is so varied that only a sampling can be given here. Prayer, work, ministry, community activities and leisure make up most of our days.
In the area of work or ministry, many of us have one main occupation, such as teaching, parish ministry, health professionals, all of which have somewhat regular hours and predictable demands.
Prayer is both communal (Eucharist and The Office) and personal (Meditation) and might take as much as two hours per day. Leisure activities are unique to each person. Every day, we spend time together in community, much like families or friends do.
Prayer is central. It is a relationship with God who loves us. Can you imagine having a best friend (or husband or wife) with whom you never speak or relate? The Eucharist and the Word of God are the source and center of our life.
Most Sisters of the Presentation spend about two hours a day in prayer; part of that time is praying with others, at Mass and other communal prayers, and another part is alone, in reading and quiet attentiveness. One of the chief benefits of prayer is that it makes us more sensitive to God’s activity in our lives, in the lives of others, in the events and circumstances of daily life.
Sure! There are lots of times when prayer doesn’t come easily. Most of us have times when we don’t feel like praying but because we’ve made the commitment, and because it will help us come closer to God and others, we try to make regular prayer time a part of our lives.
The basic differences among religious communities are things such as: the charism, the specific ministries of the community, styles of prayer and community life. All congregations are alike in that their primary concern is to share with others the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God contains two jewels: the being of God (radiating the presence of God from our person) and the doing of God (our call to mission with a special concern for the poor).
Religious communities were founded in response to specific needs of the times. A religious congregation has a charism. The foundress perceived the Gospel from one particular aspect (charism) which gave her the vision for her congregation. A charism is a gift from God. The PM’s charism is found in the mystery of the Temple. The Presentation of Mary and Jesus in the Temple.
Our community life is for the sake of the mission, therefore community is mission. Every Institute exists for the Church and must enrich her with its distinctive characteristics, according to a particular spirit and a specific mission. Therefore, as Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, we are called to share in the teaching mission of the Church by Christian education of the faith. We must adapt ourselves constantly to the ever-new needs of evangelization.
Some have opted for the veil and religious garb so as to be instantly recognized as persons who are fully given to God. It is a sign of poverty, a sign of being for the world but not of the world.
Simplicity in dress is what others have opted for because the founders and foundresses wore the dress of the people of their times. In later years, the Church asked that a garb be worn.
Click here to see the basic steps.
A vow is a solemn promise made freely as an individual gives his or her life to God. Most communities make vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience.
Adapted from materials published by vocations.com and The National Coalition for Church Vocations and National Religious Vocation Conference, 15420 S Cornell Ave., #105, Chicago, IL 60615-5604.