Becoming Apostolic - Brill's Studies in Catholic Theology by Catherine Sexton Hardcover

About the Book

Living fully till the end. This book uses Lectio Divina to analyse the lived experiences and theologies of ageing Roman Catholic sisters as they discuss the meaning of their religious vocation in a context where religious life is undergoing great change.

Book Synopsis

This book explores the experience and understanding of Roman Catholic sisters of their vocation to the apostolic form of religious life as they age.Based on interviews with twelve religious women, it draws on the practice of Lectio Divina to explore how these women describe their call to service and activity at a time in life when these might be curtailed by physical diminishment and increasingly reduced social interaction and influence.As the very institutions of religious life are themselves under threat, the book identifies new emerging forms of ministry through presence, to each other and to their carers.

Review Quotes

"A generation which had a unique position within the history of the Second Vatican Council is fast disappearing and falling silent. This book examines the experiences and theological perspectives of apostolic religious sisters in Britain as they navigate retirement and diminished roles in ministry. Based on interviews with sisters aged sixty-six to ninety, it explores their understanding of vocation and service despite increasing physical limitations. Shaped by their unique experiences, this study addresses questions around the identity of apostolic religious life for women and the dilemmas surrounding ageing, serving as a fascinating commentary on contemporary social and ecclesial history and offering potential insights into causes for the disappearance of women's apostolic religious life as it was known prior to Vatican II...

Author Catherine Sexton has an instinctive understanding of religious life and her skills as a listener, theological analyst and writer offer a vivid platform for the voices of these sisters to be heard. She maps out the impact of post-conciliar shifts on sisters' sense of identity and purpose, looking at what seemed the promise of the Council while also giving an honest appraisal of subsequent disappointments. The culture of women religious in Britain and Ireland tends to be less assertive than among their American counterparts, with a consequent lack of confidence in their identity and public perception. The persistent crisis within religious life echoes concerns from previous decades, but the vigour and depth of perception among this book's interviewees shows older sisters resisting being defined by the language of diminishment and exploring their vocation as it has unfolded over some electrifying decades, emphasising the integration of self-gift and relationality in their lived experience. " - Gemma Simmonds in: Irish Theological Quarterly 90.4 (2025)

About the Author

Catherine Sexton, completed her Ph.D. at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge, in 2018 and is a Research Fellow at Durham University's Centre for Catholic Studies. She has been researching religious life for women for the past fifteen years. Her most recent publication is a chapter in Female Faith Practices: Qualitative Research Perspectives (Routledge, 2023).