Meet some of the women and men who benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious.
“I thank all the Retirement Fund for Religious donors for all they are making possible,” says Father William Graham, 75, a member of the Capuchin Friars, Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh. “Our role is to support you. You are giving to us, and we are giving back to you. Family does those things.”
“The religious have been blessed to share their lives in service to the church and the world,” says Father Bertrand Ebben, 90, a member of the Southern Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres in New Orleans, Louisiana. “We, in turn, are grateful to the donors for all they make possible through their blessings.”
“We couldn’t be living here if we didn’t get the help from people like them,” says Sister Angele Marie Sadlier, 91, a member of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Orleans. She often contemplates the generosity of people who donate to the Retirement Fund for Religious and the effect their help has had on her life.
“We are not asking for money for ourselves but rather to go on and do the work that God has put us here for,” says Sister Ann Martinez, 82, a member of the Marianites of Holy Cross in Covington, Louisiana. “We never entered our community thinking we would make a fortune. We entered always to do good for others.”
“I had no other desire than to be a nun,” says Sister Lucille Stelly, 89, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans.
Sister Joan Flores has been a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans for more than 60 years. She was born in Belize where her father was a teacher and worked alongside missionaries.
Recently, the Retirement Fund for Religious (RFR) team was delighted to photograph several senior religious from the Archdiocese of New Orleans.