Meet Sister Rose Cecile Espinos!

An early call - at age 6

Sisters Mary Kay Brooks and Rose Cecile Espinos (right)

 “My vocational call came at the very early age of six. While attending the St. Rose Preschool facility run by Italian Sisters of Providence in Chicago, school-age children also came for a summer program of crafts and fun. While the nursery children napped after lunch, the rest of us were kept busy with stories about the saint of the day or Bible stories followed by some activities. 
“On the feast of St. Claire, the sisters told us about the saint, her running away and becoming a nun and follower of St. Francis. I was much intrigued with the story and questioned what did one do today to follow St. Francis, who in turn followed Jesus. The sister responded, ‘Just come and we, the sisters, would show you.’
“After seriously considering her response for several days, I picked up my doll, my new red dress and walked to the convent to follow St. Francis and Jesus.”

A clear vision of religious life

Sisters Ann Carol Kaufenberg and Rose Cecile Espinos (back row, right)

“To my surprise, the sisters who responded to my request told me I needed to wait until I was much older. I insisted that’s not what Sister originally told me and refused to return home. Of course, the Sister Superior informed my parents that I was at the convent and needed to be taken home. My parents did arrive and with many tears all around, I returned home. 
“Years elapsed before I reentered to ask for entrance, with a much better idea of what religious life was about, not to the Italian sisterhood, but with the School Sisters of Notre Dame who taught me in grade school. 
“What is following Jesus is an ongoing call which I continue to live out, discovering what it means for me daily.”         - Sister Rose Cecile Espinos