The Catholic Diocese of Tyler

Consecrated Religious

Serving God and his People through Consecrated Life

In responding to their baptismal call, some men and women join religious communities in order to consecrate their lives to God as a way of seeking holiness. To consecrate something means to set it aside or devote it to a holy purpose. When a man or woman decides to accept Christ’s invitation to leave everything and follow Him in a more radical way, they make vows to live like Jesus in poverty, chastity, and obedience. They participate in a ceremony in which they make this commitment, much like a married couple exchanges their vows on their wedding day. They promise Christ that they will live the rest of their lives dedicated exclusively to Him. These vows help them to live simply, to be more open with God, and to depend totally on Him.

Groups of men or women who live under a religious rule and who publicly profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience form a religious community.  They are referred to as an order or congregation who are recognized by Church authority. Religious communities typically follow the rule of their founder, which can be apostolic and characterized by working in the world, or contemplative, which is characterized by a life of solitude and prayer.  One way to identify an individual’s connection to a specific order or congregation is by the initials following their name, which identifies the order to which they belong.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (925-927):

Religious life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived within institutes canonically erected by the Church, it is distinguished from other forms of consecrated life by its liturgical character, public profession of the evangelical counsels, fraternal life led in common, and witness given to the union of Christ with the Church.

Religious life derives from the mystery of the Church.  It is a gift she has received from her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of life to the faithful called by God to profess the counsels.  Thus, the Church can both show forth Christ and acknowledge herself to be the Savior’s bride.  Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very charity of God in the language of our time.

All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty.  From the outset of the work of evangelization, the missionary “planting” and expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its forms.  “History witnesses to the outstanding service rendered by religious families in the propagation of the faith and in the formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic institutions to the medieval orders, all the way to the more recent congregations.”

Women’s Institutes of Consecrated Life

Consecrated persons are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an Institute of Consecrated Life (c. 573, §2). Institutes of Consecrated Life are societies which are established and approved within the Church and are governed by means of suitable Church legislation (c. 576). The religious state is a public and complete state of consecrated life. As well as the precepts which are to be observed by all, religious observe the three evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston (CCVI)
24 Brittan Place, Texarkana, Texas 75503
Web: http://sistersofcharity.org

Sr. Jeanne Mary Connell, CCVI

Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC)
800 E. Dawson, Tyler, Texas 75701
Web: http://cmcgeneralate.org/

Sr. Rose Marikudi, CMC – Superior
Sr. Maria Peechattukudiyil, CMC

Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (CSFN)
800 E. Dawson, Tyler, Texas 75701
Web: http://nazarethcsfn.org

Sr. (Sylvia) Anna Kubiak, CSFN – Superior
Sr. (Margo) Malgorzata Majszczyk, CSFN
Sr. (Michaela) Alicja Tomkowiak, CSFN
Sr. (Josephine) Toni Garrett, CSFN

Dominican Sisters of Houston (OP)
1300 Hays St., Palestine, Texas 75801
Web: http://domhou.org

Sr. Ann Huffstetter, OP

Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima (OP)
3300 Clarksville St., Paris, Texas 75460
http://hermanasdefatima.org

Sr. Inocencia Olmeda Borges, OP
Sr. M. Andrea Falconer Alvarez, OP
Sr. Maria de la Providencia Negron Diaz, OP

Cloistered Dominicans (OP) – Monastery of the Infant Jesus
1501 Lotus Ln., Lufkin, Texas 75904
Web: http://lufkintxnuns.org/

Sr. Mary Margaret, OP – Prioress
Sr. Mary Rose, OP – Sub-Prioress
Sr. Mary Christine, OP – Novice Director
Sr. Bernadette Marie, OP
Sr. Irma Marie, OP
St. Martin Marie, OP
Sr. Miriam, OP
Sr. Marie Augustine, OP
Sr. Mary Gabriel, OP
Sr. Mary Guise, OP
Sr. Mary Jeremiah, OP
Sr. Mary Magdalene, OP
Sr. Mary Therese , OP
Sr. Mary Thomas, OP
Sr. Mary Veronica, OP

Instituto Santa Mariana de Jesus (Marianitas) (RM)
2706 Shady Ln., Tyler, Texas 75702
Web: http://marianitas.org

Sr. Mirna De La Cruz, RM – Superior
Sr. Maribel Aguilar, RM

Other

Hermit Sisters of St. Romuald
Palestine, Texas

Sr. Mary Ann Vogel, HSSR

Men’s Institutes of Consecrated Life

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) (CSsR)
St. Alphonsus Monastery
550 C.R. 4570, Winnsboro, Texas 75494
Web: http://redemptorists.com/

Rev. (Dominic) Phuc Pham, CSsR, Rector
Rev. Cat Nguyen, CSsR
Rev. Truong Xuan Nguyen, CSsR

Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (Fransalians) (MSFS)
Wellspring Spirituality Center
16828 FM 2964, Whitehouse, Texas 75791
Web: http://fransalians.us/

Rev. Augustine Tharappel, MSFS
Rev. Luke Kalarickal, MSFS

Order of Preachers (OP)
1501 Lotus Ln., Lufkin, Texas 75904
Web: http://opsouth.org/

Rev. R.B. Williams, OP

Societies of Apostolic Life

Societies of Apostolic Life (c. 731, §1) have canonical legislation which is in some respects similar to that governing Institutes of Consecrated Life, though they form a separate category. Members of Societies of Apostolic Life do not make religious vows. They pursue the same apostolic purpose; priests are usually incardinated into the society and not the diocese.

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP)
Tyler, Texas
Web: http://fssp.com/

Rev. Joseph Valentine, FSSP

Missionaries of the Holy Cross (MHC)
Tyler, Texas

Rev. Fabian Eibl, MHC
Elvir Tabakovic, MHC

Public Associations of the Faithful

In the Church there are associations which are distinct from Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In these associations, Christ’s faithful, whether clerics or laity, or clerics and laity together, strive with a common effort to foster a more perfect life, or to promote public worship or Christian teaching. They may also devote themselves to other works of the apostolate, such as initiatives for evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with the christian spirit (c. 298, §1).

Brigitteni Servitores Sanctissimi Salvatoris Institute
P.O. Box 4025, Tyler, Texas 75712
Web: http://brigittiniservitores.com

Sr. Margarita Igriczi-Nagy

Daughters of Divine Hope
1294 CR 2310, Rusk, Texas 75785
Web: http://daughtersofdivinehope.org

Sr. Susan Catherine Kennedy

Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope
Winnsboro, Texas
Web: http://motherofisraelshope.org

Sr. (Miriam) Rosalind Moss

Misioneras Guadalupanas de Santa Ana
501 Hill Ave., Pittsburg, Texas 75686

Sr. Maria Carmen Sierra Hernandez
Sr. Maria Georgina Sierra Hernandez
Sr. Maria Del Carmen Dominguez

Missionaries of the Society of Jesus and Mary of Wari, Nigeria
1508 Yosemite, Tyler, Texas 75703

Sr. Maria Goretti Ferakeya
Sr. Mary Bakhita Owarieta
Sr. Clare A. Atebefia