Young women gather for Nebraska 'nun run'

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
“Every parish, every school in our diocese used to have exposure to religious women on a daily basis. Let’s find (religious) communities that are thriving and living those beautiful lives and visit them,” said Father Zach Jones, parochial vicar of Divine Mercy Parish and chaplain of Bishop Garrigan Schools in Algona.
 
In 2024 he took a small group of young women to visit religious communities in New Ulm and Mankato, Minnesota. After positive feedback, Father Jones spearheaded a larger trip March 30 and 31 of this year. He had intended to return to southern Minnesota with the young women but due to scheduling he instead scheduled visits to the School Sisters of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln.
 
“It’s a little farther away than I wanted to go – a good five hours in a school bus one way. We were in a bus for 10 hours for about two days,” Father Jones said. “But those are great communities that I’d love to get the girls exposed to … They were super-grateful to have us and were gracious hosts.”
 Meal with the Marian sistersThe chaplain was able to recruit young parishioners from three separate school systems to attend – Bishop Garrigan High School, Algona High School and West Bend-Mallard High School.
 
“We had 18 girls from our parish and met up with some girls from St. Albert in Council Bluffs and Dowling Catholic (Des Moines),” Father Jones explained. “Their chaplains are good friends of mine and asked if they could come … so we had about 40-45 girls total.”
 
He pointed out that not all of the Divine Mercy participants were discerning a vocation yet. Some were simply curious.
 
Deacon Dave Penton drove the school bus with the girls in tow and headed from Algona Sunday morning after Mass for the Christ the King convent.
 
“We visited the Christ the King School sisters for the evening and had evening prayer with them, then played games,” he said, noting the sisters were schoolteachers. “We prayed with them, had dinner with them and got to know the sisters there.”
 
“We would just show up at the convent and say, ‘Sisters, we’re here.’ And they took it from there,” Father Jones said. “It was wonderful.”
 
Lodging for the group was at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Lincoln following the visit at Christ the King convent. Father Jones said the girls from the different areas easily interacted with one another.
 Retreat House fellowship“We went back to the retreat house where we were all staying. We had girls from five different schools and they came together and played games, talked and had snacks,” he said. “All it took was to be around another girl they’ve never met that’s open to a relationship with Jesus Christ and maybe open to a religious vocation. It’s a beautiful uniting factor.”
 
“It was very fun to hang out with girls from other schools who were also in attendance,” said Hanna Merron, Bishop Garrigan High School senior. “It was nice to be around people who were also increasing their faith even if they weren’t discerning the religious life.”
 
On Monday, the students spent time with the Marian Sisters in Lincoln. A Mass was held for the participants and Father Jones was eager to offer the homily for the students.
 
“I talked about community and everyone’s desire for community and how we saw these beautiful communities of sisters,” the priest said.
 
The sisters inspired the visiting young women, Father Jones noted. The students enjoyed time in prayer, talking and sharing meals with the sisters.
 
“The number one comment is always, ‘I’m so amazed how joyful the sisters are. What makes them so joyful? Is that something I could have?’ It’s beautiful to see that,” the chaplain recalled.
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“We were able to see the impact women have in religious life,” Molly Peterson, senior at Bishop Garrigan High School said of the trip. “The atmosphere created was supportive, welcoming and full of happiness. The sisters emphasized doing everything with God in mind and living life to the fullest.”

“Praying, eating and talking with them was a rich and fulfilling experience,” Merron added. “I wish we could have spent a whole day with each.”
 
At the conclusion of the trip, the priest asked the young women if they recognized what the religious women contribute to the life of the church in comparison to their contact with priests.
 Visiting Christ the King sisters“(The sisters) are very loving, tender and compassionate. There’s a beauty in the feminine holiness offered that’s different from what they usually get on Sundays,” the chaplain said, noting he jokingly referred to himself as blunt and aggressive in comparison to the gentle sisters. 

Divine Mercy Parish has been very supportive of efforts to foster vocations, Father Zach pointed out. The Knights of Columbus have helped finance the priest’s trips for young men, such as last year’s trip to see the Immaculate Heart of Mary seminarians in Winona, Minnesota. The Catholic Daughters of America chapters have assisted with the priest’s “nun runs.”

 Visit to Shrine of the Holy Family on the way back to Algona“We have three different chapters of Catholic Daughters in our parish and all three supported it. They made a meal, snacks and helped with financials,” he explained. “I know we also had a lot of spiritual support.”
 
Like Merron, some of the students attending the two-day trip to Lincoln asked if they could take another trip and spend more time with the sisters. Father Jones suggested they consider the Ave trip sponsored by the diocesan Office of Vocations June 2 to 5.
 
The priest said it’s important to expose his young parishioners to convents and seminaries to widen their experiences of the Catholic Church.
 
“The church has a real depth of expression and depths of states in life. I think it’s important for us to recognize that the church is broader than Kossuth County, the Diocese of Sioux City or the U.S. There’s 1.4 billion of us striving for the same goal,” Father Jones said.
 
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