“From the beginning, Mary, under the title of Our Lady Help of Christians, has been our principal patroness. Devotion to her remains a special mark of the Sisters of Bon Secours. In Mary we recognize the one who, by her virginal consecration, realized fully the perfection to which we are called.  Beloved of the Father, intimately united to His Son, led by the Holy Spirit, Mary gave herself entirely to the mystery of redemption. In our apostolic life, Mary is our example of generosity, compassion, and prompt help to those in need” (CBS Constitutions, #31).

“From the earliest days of our foundation, an important dimension of our prayer has been praying with the sick and the dying and their families, asking God to fill them with strength, courage, peace and healing. This form of prayer continues to be vital in our ministering to the sick.…our Bon Secours theology remains always an unfinished endeavor. Because it emerges … continue reading…

Pope Benedict XIV shares message on the 49th World Day of Prayer for Vocations (April 29th)

Sister Christine Webb will take the final steps in her jouney to become a sister of Bon Secours. On Saturday, November 12, she will make her final vows.

Sr. Chris took her first, temporary vows on November 1, 2008. Since then, she has enjoyed her ministry as Chaplain at two Bon Secours assisted living communities, Province Place of DePaul in Norfolk and Province Place of Maryview in Portsmouth, Va. The period of temporary profession is balanced with living community life, ministry, prayer, and study as needed; a time for sisters to penetrate more deeply the demands of the Gospel and their vocation in order to integrate these demands into their life in a concrete and responsible manner. Now, at the end of this phase, Sr. Chris has been spending the last few months in intensive spiritual preparation to prayerfully prepare for making her final vows.

Her final vows ceremony will be … continue reading…

The Sisters of Bon Secours began hosting a chat room on their vocations website on Tuesday, October 25. The chat room, entitled ‘Sister’s Chat,’ will be held weekly from 7-8 p.m. and will feature a new topic each week. Sister’s Chat has been created by the Vocations office and Sr. Pat Dowling, CBS, Vocation Director, said, “I wanted a chat room to offer women who are inquiring about a vocation an opportunity to discuss topics related to religious life and discerning one’s call to religious life.” The chat room will enable women to casually talk with some of the sisters and other young women. They will have the opportunity to candidly ask questions that they may otherwise be uncomfortable asking someone else, furthering their knowledge of religious life.

The first four weeks will feature guest Sr. Christine Webb. Sr. Chris will be taking her final vows to become a nun on November 12 and she is currently preparing for this special step in religious life. Sr. Chris’ chat room topics will include God’s Whisper (How she heard God’s calling and began … continue reading…

Tonight at 7:00pm, Sister Pat Dowling, CBS vocation director will launch the Sisters Chat Room for women who are exploring their call to religious life. Featured guest is Sister Chris Webb who will share her story of being called to religious life and how she knew. Sr. Chris is preparing to make final vows November 12 and will be sharing what this means over a four week period with women who exploring their own calling to religious life. To access Sisters Chat go to our home page and click on Sisters Chat. Instructions for logging on are found on the Chat Room page. Hope to see you on Sisters Chat!

The Sisters of Bon Secours spent time in Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day 2011.  World Youth Day is held every three years in a different country and is a special time of pilgrimage, prayer and a worldwide encounter with the Pope.  The Sisters of Bon Secours had the privilege of hosting a vocation booth during this monumental event and visiting with thousands of young adult Catholics.

World Youth Day in Madrid, held August 15-21, was not only special this year because of the 1 million young adults that attended, but it also hosted a Vocation Fair.  Sisters Pat Dowling, CBS, Vocation Director (USA), Elena Serrano, CBS (Peru) and Rosa Sanchez, CBS (South Africa) hosted a vocation booth there for the Sisters of Bon Secours.  The Vocation Expo took place in the Parque del Retiro, a park comparable to Central Park in New York City.  Despite the extreme heat wave in Madrid … continue reading…

“] MARRIOTTSVILLE, Md. Sr. Alice M. Talone, CBS, celebrates 50 years with the Sisters of Bon Secours. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., Sr. Alice attended St. Colman’s Grade School and Villa Maria Academy and is a graduate of Bon Secours Nursing School in Baltimore. She received a B.S.N. from the University of Pennsylvania and M.A. in pastoral ministry from Trinity College in Washington, D.C.

Sr. Alice has served as a nurse, pastoral associate and patient advocate, working for many years at Bon Secours Hospital in West Baltimore. In the Congregation, she has served as vocation director and, most recently, president of the Sisters of Bon Secours, a position she held until 2009. She is also a member of the Bon Secours Health System’s board of directors and its committees.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, a religious congregation of Roman Catholic women founded in Paris in 1824, brings compassion, healing and liberation to those it serves, especially those … continue reading…

Sr. Fran Gorsuch meets God in the faces of those she helps. “My spirituality is at the moment of encounter— to bee there, to hear their nee ds. As sisters, we’re called to universal love. Some people may not appear lovable, but you get to know them. We’re all so much more alike than wee are different,” she says. Sr. Fran sees our similarities in an unlikely place: among immigrants from Haiti, Latin America, Russia, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, now living in Rockland County, outside of New York City. As director of Community Initiatives with Bon Secours Charity Health System’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY, Sr. Fran advocates for disadvantaged people in communities that have some of the fastest growing immigrant populations. She helps people who need medical care by connecting them with appropriate caregivers, including Good Samaritan. Sr. Fran is part of the Rockland County Immigration Coalition, an organization that helps defend and protect their rights and human dignity of all who seek to … continue reading…

Join Catholics around the world in 60 hours of Eucharistic prayer for vocations which coincides with Pope Benedict’s 60th anniversary of ordination. Join us June 29 to July 1 (Feast of the Sacred Heart) in praying for vocations. We offer the following prayer.

Jesus, you call faith-filled men and women to follow in your footsteps of serving people through a vocation in the Church as brothers, priests, and sisters. We pray that young people may open their hearts to hear your call and to answer with generosity to a vocation to consecrated life as religious. May those who you call be examples of your love and live the Good News to such an extent that they become the Word for others. May the Holy Spirit inspire young people to be Christ for others. Amen.

For information about consecrated life as a sister, contact us at 410-442-3172 or email at: CBSVocations@bshsi.org.
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The Archdiocese of Baltimore will join Catholics around the world in 60 hours of Eucharistic prayer for vocations to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s ordination to the priesthood.  Archbishop O’Brien asks all to make Eucharistic adoration available for 60 hours beginning June 29 and conclude July 1, feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  In the Pope’s “Message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations, ‘Proposing Vocations in the Local Church’,” he reminded Catholics that we all have a responsibility to pray for vocations. 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore provides a schedule of prayers throughout the area on their website at: http://www.archbalt.org/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=46431  Whether you live in the Baltimore area and can attend one of these services or you live at a distance and will be attending a service within another diocese, please join us in prayer for vocations at this time.