BOSTON (CNA) — Iraqi Sister Olga Yaqob is beginning a women’s religious order in the Boston Archdiocese this year to carry out the Church’s mission to evangelize.
“Our main spirituality will focus on Jesus, and then carry his presence out into the world,” Sister Olga told CNA on June 21.
“I have seen a lot of spiritual poverty in our country: people who are spiritually hungry,” she said. “They don’t know what kind of loving Father we have, what kind of beautiful faith our Catholic Church has.”
The 44 year-old sister — known for her tireless energy and beloved by her students — responded to an invitation from Cardinal Sean O’Malley to start the new order and is leaving her current post as chaplain at Boston University.
Sister Olga explained in a June 21 interview that the process of founding the Daughters of Mary, Our Lady of Nazareth has been three years in the making.
She said that Cardinal O’Malley was familiar with her personal story, including her conversion to the Roman Catholic Church six years ago after being a member of the Assyrian Church in Iraq and starting a women’s order there in 1995.
“He knew a lot about the history of my vocation and ministry in Iraq and also here in the United States before he received me into his diocese,” she said.
After observing her work with young people at Boston University, as well as her service to parishes throughout the archdiocese, the cardinal asked Sister Olga in 2008 if she would consider founding a new women’s religious community.
“To be honest, I was really sort of surprised. I never thought I would do something like this again,” she said. “And humanly speaking, I was a little bit afraid as well, because it takes a lot of suffering to start a new order.”
However, she said that, ultimately, “it wasn’t really so much questioning the cardinal’s discernment — it was more just to discern the timing.”
Sister Olga noted that the decision to launch the effort this year was perfect and that “it’s really amazing to see the response since the announcement has been made.”
She said that a group of young women from Boston University have been discerning joining the community with her, and she has been receiving phone calls from parishes and adult Catholic communities in the area, as well as from people out of state.
“It’s been really a tremendous response,” she said.
Right now, however, the main tasks at hand are drafting the order’s constitutions and looking for possible locations for a convent.
“I’ve told everyone that until the constitutions are signed by His Eminence I won’t be able to officially welcome anyone,” she said. Meanwhile, the Iraqi sister has already started the official steps “in terms of writing the constitution and other canonical steps.”
Sister Olga said that “if everything comes together” the community will open by fall or the end of this year.
She noted that the chosen name of the order — the Daughters of Mary, Our Lady of Nazareth — has “a lot to do with the ministry that we will be doing.”
“We will be a very Eucharistic and Marian order: Eucharistic communion, daily adoration and Marian devotion,” she said. “These will be the two lungs we will be breathing out of as religious women.”
“I personally chose the words ‘daughters’ instead of ‘sisters’ of Mary because it keeps us focused on that element of humility,” Sister Olga said. “We always look up to our mother to teach us and guide us and lead us as we try to bring the good news of Jesus’ love and mercy to the world.”
She said that the group “will be a contemplative and apostolic community,” meaning that they will base their spirituality off of contemplative prayer but will still go out into the community to perform “corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
Sister Olga also said the order’s habits will consist of a simple blue gown and veil, along with a draped rosary.
She emphasized how the “presence of a religious sister wearing a habit, bringing a smile and that motherly face of the Church” serves as profound witness to the surrounding culture.
She added, “To have that spiritual presence of a religious sister and bringing that motherhood of the Church — it’s very much needed in our country.”
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I had the pleasure of meeting Sr. Olga, and travelling with her to World Youth Day in Toronto. That week was such a blessing to my life and ministry, and Sister was a huge part of it. She is a beautiful, and holy woman, who’s courage, education, experience, and most important, her love for Christ, will bear abundant fruit in this new endevour.
At the age of three, I was chosen to play the role of Mary as a child in the local May procession and have always had a devotion to our Lady. As I read I thought how perfect it would be to see this happen in Boston and before getting to the section where the search for a location is mentioned, my thoughts wandered to some roaming I had done a year or so ago on the old Mission Church school grounds. I peeked through the windows of the former convent and thought how beautiful it must have been. I don’t know if the church still owns this or if anyone is occupying it; but it may be worth a look see. Please keep us updated…Best wishes Sister Olga et al
What a beautiful, hopef-filled story. Good luck to Sr Olga and God bless the new order and those who will belong.
Thank God! Just what the Church needs! Another religious community! I wonder just how long they’ll last in Boston???
This news just made my heart and face smile. How blessed are we as a Church. Best wishes to the Archdiocese of Boston and I hope one day this community establishes a house in Philadelphia.
Sister Olga is wonderful, I’m local to Boston and have met her a number of times. But “come to Boston”? She’s been here for years.
What a blessing!!
“To have that spiritual presence of a religious sister and bringing that motherhood of the Church — it’s very much needed in our country.”
Sr. Olga’s order sounds beautiful! St. John Bosco had that dream where the Church was being attacked by its enemies and 2 pillars rose up that safely guided Her through the turmoil—those 2 pillars were Jesus in His Most Blessed Sacrament, and Mary, our most Blessed Mother. These also are the 2 pillars of Sr. Olga’s new order. Praise God! Also, Boston desperately needs more women religious orders where they wear the holy habit. We have enough “sisters” running around dressed like business women. Blessed John Paul II strongly encouraged wearing the habit.
May God bless this wonderful work. Amen
that is very good/ much a holy intention sr Olga. Kudos to you. I am also working towards founding one called Missionary advocates of Our Lady of All Souls. These are sons of the most pure Heart of Mary commonly called Marian Puritans dedicated to expiatory Devotion, Self-denial and Good Works under a strict life of self-professed celibate in atonement for the sins of All Souls (the Living and the Dead) that they be loosed from Sin to gain the beatific peace, light and vision of God. Source of Inspiration cf. Ccc no.958, Maccabees 12:45
As Marian Puritans, M.s.Ss a founding religious community of the most pure Heart of Mary, our Lady Queen of All Souls in Nigeria by a grouof seven purgatorians, we are dedicated to the loving care of the most unloved and cast away showing them the gospel love and hope as created image and likeness of God for the justification, purification and glorification of the departed Souls who have not seen the beatific vision of God. The society also prays for the Living that God may be merciful to us when we leave this earthily dwelling and make for us a home in heaven through expiatory prayers and Good Works. This is our primary mission of love and charity in the spirit of our Lady’s purity, peace and justice in expiation for the sins of All Souls (The Living and the Dead). We wear black and white as our apostolic colour in a habit of chained-sash on black or white alb, or ty Rosary on belt or black rope according to the degree of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups of our large All Souls Community.
All Souls Communal (M.s.Ss) CHARISM/SPIRITUALITY: as Marian Advocates of All Souls in Nigeria, We use our special gifts, talents & personal ambition for the good of others to the glory of All Souls in the spirit of our Lady’s puristic contemplation and open-hearted charity. While doing the work of the Lord, we pray to the Lord of the work. COMPANIONS: These are associates of All Souls Community. Those who do good to us. They are friends, lovers & helpers of All Souls Society who loved to share with us the charismatic spirit & marian puritan apostolic way of life. WHAT DO THEY DO? As Missionaries of Our Lady of All Souls, we have no preferrence. We accept to take the gospel News to everywhere: both rural and urban or secular and sacred enterprises. * We carry the Gospel love to the remotest and dirty villages where the thirst for the Good News is high but the possibility of getting preachers is very slim if not nil. * Children/Youth catechectical apostolate where these are taught and inculcated the ideal catholic spirit and moral values from childhood as future hope of the Church. * we engaged into different fields of life: Medical, Legal, Engineering, educational, missions within & outside countries, parochial, media, pastoral establishments, activity of peace, justice & right, military or airforces, etc* wherever human suffering exists: at home, at work, in the Church, bank, market, farm, hospital, prison or jail, streets, on traveling, on playgrounds, reformatory houses, bereaved families, by the roadside, etc wherever eyes fill up with tears we prefer to go and wipe away the bloody and tearful face of Jesus Christ from those agonising faces of suffering people.
we are appealing for funds, in cash and in kind, from all those who believe in the teaching of life-after-death, who love and have respect for the dead that they are also members of Christ’s Mystical Body the Church, to please come to our aid by assisting us to meet the required structures and necessities so as to procedurally gain the adquate diocesan rights and the canonical approval of the holy see to become formally errected as catholic institute of consecrated life. We shall never fail to pray in our daily devotions on behalf of anyone who piously assists us in any form for the growth and expansion of the new order’s apostolates.
Praise God!! Finally a genuine religious order is coming to my diocese!! One that is pleasing to God by Eucharistic Adoration & Marian consecration AND wearing the religious habit. It will be blessed by many vocations as some “other feminist orders” are dying. I am really pleased with the Cardinal on this one.
All Souls Community a new religious order in Nigeria needs you. As Marian Puritans, we are trained to serve God in his people mostly among the unloved and the outcast by using the acquirements gotten from personal gifts, talents and ambition through expiatory devotions, self-denial and Good Works in a strict life of Self-professed celibate for the good of the Living and the Dead. We are advocates of All Souls with Mary as our most gracious Advocate under the protection of the Holy Ghost as our Supreme Advocate. The holy intention of the founders of this christian male religious community of the most pure Heart of Mary’ Marian Puritans’ follows the teaching of the RC church on the doctrine of Life-after-death, communion with the Dead and other related homilies, writings / teachings of the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church. The inspiration came on pentecost day of 2007 and the noble experience was forthwith proposed a movement @ St. Joseph Parish chapel Anyigba kogi state on the solemnity of Assumption of 15th august 2008 and leading to the eventual founding of the new order @ Holy Trinity Cathedral Chapel Maitama Abuja FCT Nigeria to become officially identified as Missionary Advocates of Our Lady of All Souls on the feast of the commemoration of All Souls of 2nd November 2011 when the devotees made a private vow to a life of self-professed celibate.
All Souls Servants Of The Purest Heart Of Mary, ‘Marian Puritans’ is a proposed religious Community of Priests, Brothers, Sisters and Companions (lay associates) founded by a Nigerian aspirant, Seminarian Matthias Edebo Usman and whose members in brave faith are dedicated to Good Works, different apostolates (sacred/secular enterprises) and great Devotions to The Blessed Jesus and Mary in expiation for the sins of the Living and the Dead. It is a community of highly talented and graciously gifted individuals who use their personal ambitions in professional courses like medicine, law, engineering, teaching,music, theatre arts, catery, business tycoonist, accountancy, technical fields such as tailoring, carpentering, fine artist,etc for the good of others and relief of the suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.
am intrested to jioin you r congregation. Please if u can help me i will be grateful
This congregation, though new, will grow in strength and grace. The mission she undertakes is one that is indeed crucial especially in our times… Personally, i would love to be a member of this mission. I look forward to a positive response to my most sincere and humble request. (08030733297)
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