NAPLES—Pope Francis encourages the world to pray for religious sisters and consecrated women in February in thanks for their courage to answer God’s invitation to live fully devoted and dedicated to Christ and his Church.
“May they continue to find new responses to the challenges of our times,” said the holy father in a Vatican statement announcing his monthly prayer intention.
There are hundreds of different religious orders, communities and congregations in the world today, and it’s no secret that many have been shrinking. This story takes a look at the Salesian Sisters, the largest women’s institute, marking 150 years Aug. 5, when members will reflect on their history. On Aug. 5, the community will also celebrate scores of faithful officially entering the sisterhood, including three young women from Florida.
“It is beautiful to be a part of the continuing story of our Salesian family by making vows on the 150th anniversary along with many of our sisters around the world,” said Sister April Hoffman, a teacher at St. John Neumann High School in Naples in the Diocese of Venice.
Sister Hoffman is promising a lifelong commitment during a final vow Mass with main celebrant Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey. The Mass will take place at the Salesian’s Sisters of St. Joseph’s Province chapel in North Haledon, New Jersey, and she will be accompanied by Sister April Cabaccang, also a teacher at St. John Neumann, and Sister Katie Flanagan teaching in the Archdiocese of Miami at Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami.
In all, 100 women finishing up study and formation are expected to profess final vows and about 150 or so others will take first vows as they continue their journeys of preparation towards religious life.
“It will be just the three of us from our Province of Eastern U.S. and Canada for our Mass in New Jersey, but there will be many others around the world,” said Sister Hoffman excited about her big day. “The Salesians are definitely growing which is a huge blessing to us and to the Church because we work with the young, and our charism is very alive, joyful and youthful.”
Who are the Florida women walking paths to the religious life?
Sister April Cabaccang
The Salesian charism won over the heart of Sister Cabaccang when she was a teen and later when she was a young adult and discerning her journey towards a vocation.
She was born in the Philippines and raised in a Catholic family with two brothers. Her father is a social worker. Her mother works as a laboratory analyst.
Her family uprooted and moved to Canada when she was just beginning her important teen years, but divine intervention may have very well been at the center of the move across the Pacific Ocean to Surrey, British Columbia.
The family settled and soon found Our Lady of Good Counsel, a Salesian Parish.
“My parents were active at church through choir, catechism and their rosary group,” Sister Cabaccang said. “I served in the choir, as a catechist and youth leader. The church was my second home.”
What attracted this teen to church and parish activities when many of her friends spent free time hanging out and goofing off?
“Growing up in a Salesian parish, I was inspired by the Salesian priests’ dedication to the youth and their zeal to lead the young people to Christ. The Salesian priests made themselves available to us, and opened up the Sacraments to us. Confession, Mass and Eucharistic Adoration were a vital part of the life of the youth of the parish.
“I was very active in youth ministry,” she said. “In our parish youth center, there hung a huge banner with an image of young people on their way to sainthood. I was inspired by them, and wanted to be God’s instrument in leading the young to sainthood, too.”
Two of Sister Cabaccang’s best friends entered the seminary. “They were happy to serve the Lord, and I wanted that happiness. But it was not until I was in college that I really listened and explored that question that came back to me whenever I prayed: “What if I’m called to be a sister?”
Time passed.
She entered Simon Fraser University where she studied business administration. After taking part in an online spiritual retreat, Sister Cabaccang decided to explore the possibility of religious vocations a little further.
Sister Cabaccang packed her bags, booked a flight and headed to meet the Salesians Sisters at their Toronto house. “The first time that I met the sisters, I felt a sense of being welcomed home.”
She was hooked. Sister Cabaccang received her business degree at Simon Fraser, and entered the Salesian Sisters in 2012. She went on to study at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, where she received a master’s of divinity degree.
“My ceremony to enter the candidacy was Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of Mary,” she said. “When I received my medal, I told Mary that this was my gift to her: generosity and an open heart. In return, I asked Mary to really be my mother and guide me in this new family.”
Sister Cabaccang continues her faith journey with her new family. “As I grow in the religious life, I feel that my love for God has grown deeper, and my awareness of God’s love for me has grown deeper too,” she said. “My sisters have also helped me. Together we help each other rise up through encouragement and through experiencing God’s mercy in each other.”
Sister Katie Flanagan
Sister Flanagan didn’t want to accept the invitation God kept sending her during her young adult years, but he kept extending the offer.
Born in Fort Lauderdale in the Archdiocese of Miami, Sister Flanagan’s parents moved to Wellington in the Diocese of Palm Beach when she was a toddler. She has two older brothers and younger sister. Her father is a lawyer. Her mother is a retired school teacher, and both are active in various ministries at the family’s parish, St. Rita.
Sister Flanagan, attended Palm Beach County public schools all her life and was involved in a variety of school groups and activities. In high school, she was student council vice president at Wellington High, on prom court her senior year and voted sweetest by the senior class.
She is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned a master’s degree in elementary education. Since she was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a teacher following in the footsteps of her mother.
God has other plans.
“I first felt the call toward the end of college, but quickly dismissed it. The thought kept coming back to me in prayer. Eventually, I decided to visit the Salesian sisters.”
Sister Flanagan recalled the felt butterflies she felt in her stomach the day she boarded the airplane to visit the Salesians in New Jersey.
“After I landed, I was walking through the airport and got a call from the sister who was picking me up. I let the call go to voicemail and thought ‘I can turn around now. I can get a flight home.’”
She took a big breath and began to pray.
“I was definitely scared, but I also knew that God was calling me and that he wants my deepest happiness, so I picked up the phone and called the sister back.”
The sister greeted Sister Flanagan and was warm and friendly. Once at the Salesian house, Sister Flanagan was introduced to the other sisters who welcomed her with open arms.
“I felt so at home. I knew it was the right choice.”
Sister Flanagan professed first vows Aug. 5, 2016, and loves the community lifestyle. “I love our simple and practical prayer life. The way we find God in the regular moments of every day. I also love spending time with young people and helping them to encounter God. They bring me so much life and hope.”
Her entire family, friends, classmates and supporters will be with her in New Jersey when she professes her final vows in August and begins her new journey of faith.
“I feel so ready,” Sister Flanagan said. “I’m excited to be able to make this promise to God with my whole life. I know it is who I was made to be.”
Sister April Hoffman
Donning a habit and joining a religious community was something no one expected of little April Hoffman when she was growing up with her four sisters on her family’s farm in rural Kansas.
“You could say having all girls in my family was like a training for life in the convent,” Sister Hoffman said in fun.
“My dad farms full-time, taking care of the cattle and crops, and my mom works at our local elementary school as a bus driver and teacher’s aide.”
Sister Hoffman, who attended public schools, was raised Catholic and her entire family was involved in various activities at St. Philip Parish.
“My dad served on the church council for a while and helped usher at Mass. My mom cantered and taught religious education and was active in the Altar Society.”
The girls participated in the religious education program, children’s choir and served as lectors when they were older.
“I would say a highlight for me was helping out with service projects in our community and learning about the saints. I always loved hearing how real people could follow God and serve him in so many different ways. Those holy examples gave me a lot of hope, and I think they were really the seed of my vocation and love for the Church.”
Sister Hoffman studied language and cultural studies in addition to elementary education at Emporia State University in Kansas. She earned bachelors degrees. College was also where she discovered her passion for her faith “in a more real and personal way,” she said.
She became part of the tight-knit Catholic community on campus. Hanging out with her Catholic friends, she spent time in prayer at the campus chapel and attended spiritual retreats and events.
One summer, Sister Hoffman joined friends to present a catechetical program to youth. They shared their faith with them and presented talks to help spiritually guide them.
“I was part of a community that prayed together and accompanied one another spiritually. I was attending daily Mass and getting to share my faith with young people. It was a turning point for me. I felt like I had found my calling.”
Sister Hoffman began praying about discerning God’s plan for her and joined Samuel Group led by the Apostles of the Interior Life at a nearby university.
“Through that program, the example of several close friends who entered the seminary or convent, and in meeting regularly with a spiritual director, I really felt God inviting me to make a radical commitment to give myself totally to him and his people,” she shared.
“I remember one afternoon in adoration reading through a list of qualities or desires that might mean you have a religious vocation and feeling a little distressed as I realized I said ‘yes’ to every item on the list. Then, I was just crying, surprised and humbled that God was calling me to this way of life.”
Sister Hoffman visited the Salesian Sisters in New Jersey.
“I loved the sisters wore a habit, their devotion to Mary and the Eucharist, their great love for the pope and of course that they worked with young people.
“When I first came to visit the sisters, they were running their summer camp, and they were outside with the kids entertaining them and keeping them cheerful through the heat of the afternoon. It was beautiful to see their love for God through their love for the young and each other. They started each day with prayer and Mass and then came together after the day’s work to praise God again. At supper they were joking and teasing each other, just like in my family.”
Sister Hoffman is excited about her big day coming up opening a new chapter in her life as she continues to follow God’s calling.
“I am excited about our perpetual profession, but it is only the continuation of the many graces that have already been given. God continues to lead me closer to him, and I am grateful every day for my Salesian vocation,” she said.
By Linda Reeves | Florida Catholic Media
