Blog, podcasts and videos explore life of a Catholic nun
By Danielle Portteus
The Monroe Evening News
MONROE, Mich. (AP) — Sisters Julie Vieira and Maxine Kollasch say the life of a nun is an adventure. That’s why they wanted to share their stories with others around the world. In the process, they created a faith-based online ministry called A Nun’s Life.
Since its launch, the members of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, have connected with thousands of people across the globe speaking about the life of a Catholic sister and everything in between.
“We work as a religious community and as a Catholic faith-based organization that fosters a community of faith online,” Sister Julie, 41, told The Monroe Evening News.
Back in 2006, Sister Maxine was in school earning a master’s degree at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and Sister Julie was working at a Catholic publishing company also in Chicago. After they became IHM sisters, they talked about creating a blog to dispel misconceptions about religious life.
“People have a lot of stereotypical images when they think of Catholic nuns or sisters,” Sister Maxine, 56, said. “We were both professional writers and talked about maybe starting a blog because we also both did well with technology.”
The ministry has bloomed from the original plan of a blog incorporating podcasts and now the pair uses a Web cam for video chats with fans.
“A Nun’s Life is about the life of a Catholic sister from those who live it,” Sister Julie said. “It provides a prospective into what we do. We wanted to show there is great diversity with nuns and many flavors of religious life.”
As the ministry started to develop, the women thought the only people who might be interested in details about their lives would be their moms and other relatives, but discovered there was a niche for their work.
“Soon, we started to draw in a number of people who it surprised us when people wanted to talk with us,” Sister Maxine said.
The blog sprung other forms of communication.
“From the blog we recognized the content was good and engaging so we thought we could expand to social media and have conversations with our readers,” Sister Julie said.
The ministry’s podcasts are streamed live and tackle topics such as prayer, faith and community and spiritualty.
Listeners can interact during the live broadcasts with other listeners or join the sisters in a chat room.
The show features segments including “Ask Sister,” where the pair answers questions about religious life or general faith questions. In other segments, the sisters conduct live interviews of guests who are nationally known for their work in ministry, religious life or theology.
The pair also has a segment called “Praying with the Sisters” where they reflect on daily scripture and share prayer requests with people around the globe.
Podcasts can be downloaded from their Web site, www.anunslife.org, or by subscribing on A Nun’s Life channel on iTunes. Podcasts take place live at 7 p.m. every weekday.
The Web site also features an interactive forum where people communicate on various topics.
While visiting another sister in New York City in 2009, the women went on her radio show and then decided to add the podcasts.
“ We did the show and connected with it immediately,” Sister Maxine said.
Participation in their online site has continued to grow.
“ We have people who have been with us since 2006,” she said. “Over time, we have evolved and more and more people have come to us and have shown up at our faith events.”
