Ursuline Sister makes first vows in Peru

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2002) - The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville celebrated the first vows of Sister Ana Barbarán Sept. 14 in Peru. The Ursuline Sisters take four vows: consecrated celibacy, poverty, obedience and teaching Christian living.

A native of Peru, Sister Ana, 33, has been involved with the Ursuline community in Callao for the past four years as a candidate and novice. She has been active in the catechetical program in St. Angela Merici Parish in the neighborhood of Carmen de la Legua.

"I was drawn by the way the sisters served the most needy, and I felt I could also," said Sister Ana. "It is said, 'the cry of the poor cries in your own heart.'"

The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville have been in Callao since 1964, when four sisters arrived from Louisville to work with the poor in the area and at the Navy school. Today, the Ursuline Sisters oversee the philosophy and education at St. Angela Merici Parish School, work with groups of women and youth to empower them by providing classes and experiences on women's spirituality and provide leadership training with workshops on self-esteem, personal relationships, communication and organizational skills and parenting.

Sister Ana chose the Ursuline Sisters as her community "for their option to work with the poor and the style of life they have of simplicity and openness toward the reality of the people."

As the foundress of the Ursuline Sisters, Saint Angela has inspired Sister Ana's journey. "Angela was a person who looked for a place for those most in need. To care for others is what I am trying to realize in my own life. Working with children, working in the catechetical program, trying to get clothing for the people in the villages, all these are ways that I also try to care for those most in need."

Sister Ana is the second Peruvian to make vows in Callao. Sister Yuli Oncihuay made her first vows in 1998.

# # #