Saint Paul the Apostle Community Welcomes a
Discernment home for Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth!
There are 1,200 Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (CSFN) across 14 countries, dedicated to spreading God’s love, particularly within families. And now, three Sisters and four Affiliates (women who are discerning their vocation) have made their home with us in the Saint Paul the Apostle community!
For the last few years the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth have been looking for a place where they could create a discernment house and when he learned of this, our Pastor Fr. John Szatkowski brought this wonderful opportunity to us in the Spring of 2018. While it needed a lot of work, we had the space in what had been our convent on James Street back in the early days of the parish. In Saint Paul style, in a matter of months many people pitched in to turn this house into a home.

By expanding their presence to Richardson, these women are able to fulfill a ministry with families in our church and school community. They spread the Kingdom through daily living in a community of prayer and commitment to God and the Holy Family. They often serve families through schools, hospitals, parishes, prisons and social service agencies and while their work is still unfolding, we are excited to see how they can help with our various ministries through the church and school.

Our Affiliates have work and school duties at a variety of Catholic schools and parishes across the area. They feel very blessed to come home to Saint Paul the Apostle, where they feel very welcome.

The Saint Paul the Apostle community is blessed to have women religious in our midst again. Watch for more about these women in future Flocknote messages. For now Sr. Michele explains, “Prayer for families is essential to our mission as Sisters of the Holy family of Nazareth. With this in mind, we invite any Saint Paul parishioner to share their intentions with us." Please send prayer intentions to 
[email protected].

"We cannot say enough about the dedication and hard work of the Men’s Club, the thoughtfulness of the Women’s Guild and so many others who brought this house up-to-date and truly made it a home!"  ~ Sisters of the Holy Family

The chapel inside their new home includes an altar constructed by Eagle Scout John Archer, and the front yard includes a beautiful garden area constructed by Eagle Scout Jacob Westerman.  

The Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth is Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Frances Siedliska, who started the Congregation in Rome, Italy in 1875. She was beatified in 1989. Their charism is born of a deep contemplation of the Trinity and its human manifestation, the Holy Family of Nazareth. Like Mary and Joseph, faithfully living their daily lives in the presence of the Word made Flesh, these Sisters understand that simple ordinary life, lived in love, can be a profound encounter with God. Rooted in Christ, they strive to build communities of love and hope. They recognize the family as the place where values are nurtured and persons are formed, and in the spirit of Frances Siedliska, they work throughout the world to embrace the needs of the human family as their own. Today, this vision of Nazareth is being lived by some 1,200 sisters serving in 14 countries: Australia, Belarus, England, France, Ghana, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and the United States, They are joined by 700 lay associates. The U.S. province of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth is in the Chicago area and has more than 200 sisters serving in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.