Removing the Habit of God: Sister Christine’s Story 1959-1968

A shy young girl who always tried to be good and please others, Susan could have chosen other careers such as teacher, nurse, or librarian. Instead, Susan turned to something whe knew would never disappoint her and in 1959, after high school graduation, her parents proudly but reluctantly escorted her to her new home as a Postulant in the Ursuline Sisters’ Motherhouse in Long Island, NY. As she donned her heavy black dress with cape, stiff white collar and cuffs, and attached the unfamiliar veil on her head (sans mirror- first lesson, a postulant must not be vain) for the first time, she could not imagine how her life would evolve over the next nine years. She imagined herself as striving towards purity in thought, mind and deed, in her eventual fate as a saint. But it was really, really hard.