sisters
SISTER
Camille
D’Arienzo,
R.S.M. (
second from left)
taking part in
an Alzheim-er’s Walk in
2011.
Called, and called again
Entering the door of religious life led this Sister of Mercy to the
fulfillment of her dreams, and beyond.
BY
SISTER
CAMILLE
D’ARIENZO,
R.S.M.
AFEW Mon THs before my high school graduation, i was seated in a Long island Railroad station
waiting for the train that would return
me to our Lady of Mercy Academy, the
boarding school my father had enrolled
Sister Camille D’Arienzo, R.S.M.
is a Sister of Mercy in Glendale,
New York. She is a writer and
speaker as well as the senior
religion commentator for 1010
WINS Radio. She contributes
“Conversations with Sr. Camille,”
a biweekly column for the National Catholic Reporter’s online edition, which chronicles the lives
and concerns of contemporary Catholics. The Cherish Life Circle she founded continues to work for an
end to capital punishment and to comfort families
of murder victims.
me in six years earlier, after my mother’s
death. i was thinking about the previous
night in new york City. A very attentive
date had taken me to the theater and an
exciting night on the town. it was all so
romantic. Even more so was a classmate’s
recent invitation to be her bridesmaid
the summer after graduation.
But something was distracting me:
the swinging doors that led to the train’s
platform. one said “Enter,” the other
“do not Enter.” Exactly my dilemma.
Almost 18, i was weighing many options. i wanted to be a journalist, an
airline stewardess, and a nurse. Although
i was considering the joys of marriage
and motherhood, i also felt an annoying
attraction to becoming a nun. Under-
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