To be consecrated is to be set apart for the sacred. It is a call to a life of holiness. The Office of Consecrated Life supports men and women in institutes of consecrated life serving in the Diocese of Knoxville. It also works with the Office of Vocations to promote vocations to consecrated religious life.
The Diocese of Knoxville is home to several religious orders of men and women sharing their charisms to strengthen the Church in East Tennessee.
Founded: The Religious Institute was founded in Moroto- Uganda in March 1975, by Very Rev. Father John Marengoni, MCCJ, with the guidance and approval of Rt. Rev. Bishop Sisto Mazzoldi, bishop of the Diocese of Moroto.
Charism: Inspired by the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, who for love of his father “loved us all and gave himself up in our place” (Eph. 5:2), the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary dedicate themselves to evangelization through missionary activity. The sisters commit themselves to a life of prayer, self-sacrifice, and apostolic ministry aimed at bringing the Good News to all, by conforming to the life of our savior, the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:11).
The sisters are dedicated to Christ and the marginalized, fostering a legacy of perpetual devotion and evangelization. Their apostolate consists primarily of the witness of their consecrated life, which they foster through prayer and penance, works of the gospel and service following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the Diocese of Knoxville: The Evangelizing Sisters of Mary arrived in Knoxville on July 15, 2010, and were at first at Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish. Two years later, they were also invited to serve at St. John Neumann Parish, where their convent is now located. Their current apostolates are within St. John Neuman Parish and Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
Pictured above: The Sisters in Knoxville and their apostolates. From left to right: Sister Dorothy Cassian, ESM (Administrative Assistant at Samaritan Place – Catholic Charities of East Tennessee); Sister Elizabeth Wanyoike, ESM (Director of Adult Faith Formation – St. John Neumann Church); Sister Maureen Ouma, ESM (Local Superior and teacher at St. John Neumann School); and Sister Restituta Nyinoweitu, ESM (Pastoral Associate at St. John Neumann Church)
Contact
Website: https://mcesm.org/
Information About Vocations: https://mcesm.org/formation/
Contact the Sisters in Knoxville: [email protected]
Founded: By Venerable Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland on December 12, 1831. Re-founded in Alma, MI on September 1, 1973.
Charism: A Religious Sister of Mercy vows to God poverty, chastity, obedience and the service to the poor, sick and ignorant. Each Sister is called to be a convergence point between the Mercy of God and the misery of mankind in the complex needs of today’s society.
Venerable Catherine’s legacy of union and charity is an invitation to love each other sincerely in Christ by cultivating the Little Virtues (gentleness, kindness, courtesy, simplicity, humility, trust in God, patience, and forbearance). Integrating professional excellence with the demands inherent in our call, each Sister is challenged to enter into a process of life-long formation towards her own sanctification and the salvation of souls.
In the Diocese of Knoxville: The Sisters have been present in the Diocese of Knoxville since 2009. Their convent is located within the parish boundaries of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and their current apostolates includes St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic and different forms of service in the diocesan offices.Pictured above, from left to right: Sister Celeste Mary Poché, RSM, Sister Mary Simone Haakansson, RSM, Sister Mary Timothea Elliott, RSM, and Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM.
ContactFounded: On December 1, 1812, Father John Baptist Mary David (later Bishop) established a new community of women religious known as the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth at St. Thomas farm in Bardstown, KY. Of the six young women to first answer the call to serve, Catherine Spalding was elected as the first Mother Superior of the new community.
Mission Statement: We Sisters of Charity of Nazareth are an international Congregation impelled by the love of Christ in the tradition of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac and the pioneer spirit of Catherine Spalding. Embracing intercultural relationships, we and our Associates commit ourselves to care for all creation and to work for peace and justice in solidarity with oppressed and marginalized peoples.
In the Diocese of Knoxville:The Sisters first ministered in the Diocese of Knoxville at St. Vincent Infirmary in Chattanooga (East Lake) from 1890-1901. They returned to the area in 1951 to staff and operate Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga at the request of the Hamilton County Memorial Hospital Association, a ministry they held until ownership of Memorial Hospital was transferred to Catholic Health Initiatives in 1997.Pictured above: Sister Alice (on the left) currently serves as the Patient Ambassador at CHI Memorial Hospital in Hixson. Sister Judy (on the right) began working as a chaplain at CHI Memorial in Chattanooga. After one year, she was named Vice President for Mission and served in that position for eleven years. Sister Judy continues to volunteer at CHI Memorial and serves on the Board of Directors.
Website: https://nazareth.org/
Founded: The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd began as a branch of the Order of Our Lady of Charity founded in 1641 by John Eudes at Caen, France, and dedicated to the care, rehabilitation, and education of girls and young women in difficulty.
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd was founded by Rose Virginie Pelletier in Angers, France, in 1835. Rose was the daughter of a medical doctor and his wife, known for their generosity to the poor. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Tours and was given the name Mary of Saint Euphrasia. At the age of twenty-nine, she became mother superior of the convent.
While superior at Tours, Mary Euphrasia formed a contemplative nuns group, named the Magdalen Sisters (based in a devotion to Mary Magdalene's conversion), now known as the Contemplative Communities of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. In 1842 Mary Euphrasia sent the first five Sisters to Louisville, Kentucky, to establish houses in the United States. From Louisville new foundations spread across the country.
Charism: The Church entrusts Good Shepherd Sisters a share in her mission of reconciliation, which demands an awareness that the Sisters themselves need conversion. The Sisters' specific orientation is to girls and women. The Sisters commit to vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and zeal. The fourth vow, which is at the heart of the Sisters' vocation as apostolic sisters who commit themselves to live and work for the salvation of persons, especially to those they are sent. The values of the Good Shepherd Sisters are individual worth, mercy, reconciliation, and zeal.
In the Diocese of Knoxville: The Good Shepherd Sisters have been in Tennessee (west) since 1875. Sister Lakshmie Napagoda was sent to Maryville, Tenn., to assist a local group in starting a counseling center. When this task was accomplished, Sister Lakshmie moved to Knoxville in February 2024. Sister Lakshmie, who is a licensed clinical social worker, provides counseling via telehealth to people experiencing mental health challenges and volunteers at a local program that assists homeless people.
Contact:
Website: https://sistersofthegoodshepherd.com/
Information About Vocations: https://sistersofthegoodshepherd.com/two-lifestyles/
Contact the Sisters in the Diocese of Knoxville: [email protected]
Founded: The eremitical vocation has ancient Christian roots reaching far back into Church history to the time of the early Fathers and Mothers of the Desert. It is “a life given to God for the praise of glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6) and “is rooted in the very heart of the Church and in humanity. A life always open to fruitful intercession.” (cf. Hermit’s Way of Life, Intro)
In 1983, ecclesial recognition was given to this ancient form of consecrated life within the Code of Canon Law, making it possible for hermits, without belonging to an Institute of Consecrated Life, to be professed and consecrated persons of the eremitic tradition living within a Diocese under the supervision of the local Bishop and/or his delegate(s).
Charism: According to Canon 603, the charism of the eremitic life is to be “devoted to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance.” Hermits live their lives “in a continuous and progressive rhythm of praising God and interceding for humanity, by being “con-formed to Christ, who prayed alone on the mountain” to the Father on our behalf, seeking always to do His Father’s Will. The eremitical charism, therefore, provides the hermit with the means to enter more deeply into the Love Relationship between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. And thus, being united to the Heart of Christ within His Mystical Body, the Church, the hermit progressively becomes transformed into Christ’s Love, a “fruit of the cooperation of human freedom with divine grace.” (cf. Hermit’s Way of Life, #12)
As a Canonical Hermitess, having publicly professed eremitic/religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Sister Anunziata lives her Rule of Life as a bride of Christ, in a Trinitarian-Eucharistic and Marian spirituality of contemplative prayer rooted in the Carmelite tradition. Daily, with Mary, she works to deepen her faith, hope and charity as well as cultivating all the “virtues of the everyday” with her “yes” to the Father’s will, through the graces the Holy Spirit bestows and unfolds in her life. Offering all to the Father through Jesus for the greater good and benefit of souls, Sister strives to make of her life a humble return of Love for LOVE.
In the Diocese of Knoxville: Professed and Consecrated on August 22, 2020, Sister Anunziata lives in Our Lady of Grace Hermitage, located in West Knoxville in-between the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and All Saints Parish. Along with living her eremitic lifestyle within the hermitage, Sister engages in one or two mornings a week in an outward limited ministry within the Diocese of Knoxville.
Contact the Hermitess in the Diocese of Knoxville: [email protected]Founded: The ancient vocation of the Ordo Virginum immediately began to thrive in the early Church with some of the earliest virgin saints including Lucy, Agatha, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia even being commemorated in the Roman Canon of the Mass. The desire for these and other women to persevere in the holy state of virginity for the Kingdom of God “led to the formation of a solemn rite constituting the candidate a sacred person, a surpassing sign of the Church’s love for Christ, and an eschatological image of the world to come and the glory of the heavenly Bride of Christ” (“Consecration to a Life of Virginity”). This rite was celebrated as early as the fourth century by the local bishop (“Instruction ‘Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago’ on the ‘Ordo virginum’”).
As time went on, consecrated virgins began associating in communities, which later became established religious orders. Then, in 1970, during the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI restored the Order of Virgins. This allowed consecrated virgins to pray for the Church, particularly for the needs of the diocese, while living in the world under the direction of their local bishops who also serve the role of spiritual fathers.
Charism: According to Canon 604, the charism of “the order of virgins who, expressing the holy resolution of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are mystically betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.” Specifically, consecrated virgins pray the Liturgy of the Hours, engage in works of penance and mercy, and, using their unique gifts and talents, engage in apostolic activity. In addition, consecrated virgins are encouraged, if their schedules permit, to attend daily Mass and spend as much time with their Divine Spouse in the Blessed Sacrament as well so that they may engage in “contemplative silence, which creates favourable conditions for listening to the Word of God and for heart-to-heart conversation with the Bridegroom” (“Instruction ‘Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago’ on the ‘Ordo virginum’”).
Having publicly stated her promise to remain in a holy state of virginity and to be a faithful witness to the Gospel during the Rite to a Consecration of a Life of Virginity, Julie Radachy lives her Rule of Life as a Bride of Christ, which combines both the active and the contemplative aspects of this vocation.
In the Diocese of Knoxville: Julie Radachy was consecrated on April 23, 2022. She currently resides in West Knoxville. In addition to teaching online and serving as the Director of Religious Education at St. John Neumann Parish, she enjoys volunteering with various ministries at both St. John Neumann and at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Julie is also an active member of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins (USACV), leading their Facebook and Instagram social media pages and serving as the concierge for the annual Information Conference for discerners and diocesan personnel who want to learn more about this vocation.
Contact the Consecrated Virgin in the Diocese of Knoxville: [email protected]