Sr. Mary Aquinas did not necessarily fit the stereotype of a nun in the first half of the 20th century. Aside from prayer, Sr. Aquinas was accomplished in many other fields, including aeronautics, electronics, physics and education. She earned her pilot’s license in 1942 and in 1957 was honoured by the U.S. Air Force for contributions to national security and world peace. That same year she became the first nun to fly a jet plane. She bore no resemblance to the Sally Field character in the 1960s TV sitcom The Flying Nun, but she was no less famous in her own fields of endeavour. Sr. Aquinas shared her passions across the continent, including a stop in Montreal in October of 1958, dutifully reported by The Register. Sr. Aquinas died at age 91 on Oct. 20, 1985. 

The Little Sisters of the Poor — nuns who have refused to comply with the Affordable Care Act contraception mandate — lost their latest court case July 14.

TORONTO - Having survived five years of investigation, interrogation and suspicion as past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States, Sr. Carol Zinn of the Sisters of St. Joseph is calling for more open, honest and heartfelt dialogue across the divides within the Church.

WASHINGTON - The president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious said the organization is pleased to be "going on with our normal life, so to speak," now that the Vatican's mandate to reform the group has concluded.

TORONTO - Sr. Rose Pacatte is first and foremost a storyteller. In her 47 years as a Daughter of St. Paul, she has great stories about answering her call to consecrated life, the joy she shares with her fellow sisters and the opportunities her congregation has given her.

It is often said that a religious sister never truly retires, and Sr. Mary Ann Maxwell is living proof.

The Canadian member of the Sisters of Charity of Immaculate Conception spent her first 37 years as a nun working as both a teacher and principalin the Catholic school system, from which she had just graduated. 

As part of the Year of Consecrated Life, The Catholic Register is proud to present its Call to Service special feature highlighting the stories of religious nuns and priests across Canada and internationally.

You can browse the articles below and see all the advertisements on the Digital Edition. The original pull-out section appeared in the April 26, 2015 issue.

St. Albert, Alta. - It was in the fall of 1859 that the Grey Nuns arrived in Alberta, welcomed by Fr. Albert Lacombe at Lac Ste. Anne with ringing church bells and dancing First Nations people.