Sr. Frohlich professes final vows in Society of the Sacred Heart

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Sister Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, professed her final vows as a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart July 1. She is one of 12 women from nine countries to make their professions at Villa Lante, the Society of the Sacred Heart motherhouse in Rome. Her path to final vows began in a different community of women religious and took more than 30 years, 10 with the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Sister Frohlich is a member of the U.S. Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart, located in St. Louis. This is the second final profession of the year for the province, and the Religious of the Sacred Heart here have a first profession scheduled for later this month.

Sister Frohlich is an associate professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she teaches graduate courses in spirituality. She completed her doctorate degree at the Catholic University of America Department of Religion and Religious Education in 1990. She has authored, edited or contributed to several books, and she has given lectures, workshops and retreats around the country.

"What I saw in the Religious of the Sacred Heart was a joyful contemplative life, a loving community life and a passionate commitment to being educators and scholars," she said. "I am sharing life with women who practice prayer, community and mission with great integrity and verve. I am part of a long and deep tradition of spirituality that nourishes me on spiritual, emotional and intellectual levels. I belong to an international community that challenges and enriches me with different languages, cultures and ways of thinking and being."

The Society of the Sacred Heart was founded in France in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and brought to the United States by St. Rose Philippine Duchesne in 1818. There are 330 members in the U.S. Province and more than 2,500 professed members in 41 countries.

On Wednesday, July 18, Sacred Heart novice Juliet Mousseau will profess first vows in a private ceremony during the provincial assembly. The ceremony will take place at the Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles. Mousseau was an adjunct professor at Aquinas Institute while earning her doctorate degree at St. Louis University. She will return to Aquinas Institute for the upcoming academic year.