Entering Religious Life Doesn't Mean Leaving The World Behind

Kristen Daniels (left) is considering becoming a Catholic nun. Sister Donna Del Santo faced the same situation when she was 38 and offers some advice for Kristen as she considers entering the discernment process. Courtesy of Kristen Daniels and Sister Donna Del Santo

November 15, 2016·4:32 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
NPR Staff

When you're facing a major life change, it helps to talk to someone who's already been through it. All Things Considered is connecting people on either side of a shared experience, and they're letting us eavesdrop on their conversations in our series Been There.

As Kristen Daniels was finishing up college and thinking about her next steps, she was caught off-guard by one possibility: becoming a Catholic nun.

"Of course being a senior in college, that didn't go over great," she says. "It made me nervous that this might be a possibility for me."

As the thought grew, Kristen decided to look into it and signed up for a yearlong volunteer program with the Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation in Los Angeles.

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/15/498294687/entering-religious-life-doesnt-mean-leaving-the-world-behind

5:37 audio at link.