The Felician Sisters of North America have been engaging in a process to assure the viability of the Felician mission for years to come. Recognizing the diminishing numbers and aging membership of the eight North American provinces, we have been praying, discerning, meeting, conferring, and discussing a possible reconfiguration. A new, more efficient entity will reduce the number of sisters needed for administration, maximize the resources of the sisters for the sake of our mission, and allow us to undertake new ventures for the Church in new places.

Collaborative ventures are now in place as the Felicians in North America move toward greater unity.

The North American Felician Vocation Center was instituted in 2003 to provide greater synergy for the efforts of vocation directors in each of the eight provinces. Two co-directors run the Center from a location on the campus of the Livonia, Michigan Provincial House. A greater national presence, coordinated efforts in ads, brochures and other media materials, and a support network for efforts on the local level are a few of the benefits being reaped from this initiative.

The North American Felician Common Novitiate was formally dedicated in January, 2007. Housed at a completely refurbished convent on the grounds of the Enfield, Connecticut Provincial House, the collaborative venture brings together all first- and second-year novices from the eight North American Provinces. A staff of three currently provides the day-to-day formation activities and instruction with contributions from other sisters, priests, and lay persons with expertise in a specific area. The fledgling program is providing an excellent environment for the religious formation and education of future Felicians.

The latest cooperative venture is The North American Felician Communications Office located on the campus of the Livonia, Michigan Province in offices it shares with the Vocations Center. The Communications Office is the central point for information dissemination about the Journey in Hope reconfiguration process and serves the needs of the various task forces and committees that are currently at work. It publishes the quarterly newsletter Voices of Hope.

These and other future collaborative ventures are bringing the sisters of the eight North American Provinces closer together as they approach eventual unification.

Many other religious communities of women are also in reconfiguration modes as they ponder how best to serve God’s people in the years to come.

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