Last summer, Ann Marie Powers found herself in a quaint little church to pray a Holy Hour while vacationing in northern Canada.
Concerned the small chapel would close immediately after the midweek morning Mass, Powers asked a passing parishioner if she could stay to pray. Not only could she stay, turns out both would be praying a Holy Hour for the same intention: their priests.
Powers, of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, Mays Landing, had met a fellow member of the Seven Sisters Apostolate – women who pray each day for a specific priest or bishop.
“You know the Holy Spirit had something to do with that,” Powers says with a laugh.
At least 16 parishes in the Diocese of Camden have Seven Sisters groups. A group begins once seven women commit to praying a Holy Hour for a priest. Each woman takes a particular day of the week, with prayer centered on the priest and his role as a shepherd. The Holy Hour is ideally prayed in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament – either in an Adoration chapel or in front of a tabernacle. It’s a one-year commitment.
A parish can have more than one group; Saint Simon Stock in Berlin, for example, has three – one for each of its priests.
“A lot of my prayer time comes in the silence of the night, before midnight of that day,” says Gail Grabowski, who has been a member of the apostolate for about three years.
Grabowski is the anchoress – or coordinator – of the group that prays for Father Philip Ramos, AM, in-residence and parish weekend associate. She is also a member of the parish’s other two Seven Sisters groups. She prays for Father Ramos on Fridays, pastor Father Michael de Leon, AM, on Thursdays, and parochial vicar Father Joseph Ciar, AM, on Tuesdays.
“I do know the priests are appreciative,” she says, adding that the Seven Sisters is an apostolate in which any woman can be involved. “Some people are homebound and want to help in the parish; this gets them into a ministry.”
The Power of Prayer
Father Anthony Infanti, parochial vicar at Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gibbsboro, is unwavering in his support of the Seven Sisters Apostolate.
“People rarely know when their priest is in crisis, whether that crisis is small or big. A priest needs prayers, but he rarely asks others for them,” he says. “You can see on a priest’s face when something bothers him. Sometimes, you can have an internal understanding that you need to pray for your priest. Those are the intentions you pray for.
“If the priest is aware that the Seven Sisters is there, and he understands what their purpose is, he can go right to them and ask them to pray for something specific.”
Father Infanti learned about the ministry about four years ago, when he was serving as parochial vicar of Church of the Incarnation in Mantua. A parishioner had come to him with a desire to pray for priests; after doing some research, he told her about the Seven Sisters. Today, he serves as chaplain to the Seven Sisters’ groups at the Mantua parish.
“The effect it has had on the priests in their parish – they’ve seen them change, they’ve seen them grow, they’ve seen them become holier,” he says.
He says he has seen a common trait among those in the Seven Sisters: “You can ask any of the women, ‘Did you have a desire before this to pray for priests?’ They’ll tell you yes and how they were led to the group.”
Rose Alapatt of Saint Simon Stock Parish was one such woman. About four years ago, she was feeling downhearted with news about priest sexual abuse and how young people were continuing to fall away from the Catholic faith.
“I was so sad, and I started praying about what I could do,” she says. “You know how God guides you? Well, He guided me to the Seven Sisters.”
“All of us make up the Church, not just priests,” she continues. “Many may say, ‘You have to pray for priests?’ Yes, priests are human, and they need our prayers.”
“If you remember, Pope Francis would always say, ‘Pray for me.’ I loved that because it’s a reminder that we have a responsibility. We [laity] can’t just ask priests to do everything. We have to participate.”
To Alapatt, that means quiet time in prayer. “Quite often you might think, ‘Is He actually listening?’ But when you sit still, when you silence yourself, you get a different kind of feeling – one that only comes from letting the Holy Spirit work.”
Words of Thanks
Indeed, the Holy Spirit was at work on a recent Friday night in Millville, where hundreds gathered at the Parish of All Saints for Mass with Bishop Joseph Williams.
“I can count on both hands how many times I wanted to give up,” the Bishop preached. “All the hard work … and it seems like no one is responding. … How is it possible that I kept going out?”
It was only possible because of all those who were praying for him, Bishop Williams told the Seven Sisters and their families. “Pray that [our priests] may have a heart like Jesus. Pray that they may have a heart to go out and seek the lost.”
After the Diocese’s dozens of Seven Sisters groups read their recommitment prayer together, Bishop Williams said, “We recognize the power of your prayers and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We pray you grow in numbers.”
Silent but Sturdy
The Seven Sisters in Saint Vincent de Paul Parish is not only growing – members are inspiring the youngest generations.
Kristina Longo, a member of one of the parish’s two groups since the spring, prays for Father John March every Saturday.
“It’s so much more than I thought,” she says of the apostolate. “You become an important part of the parish, and it’s nice because it’s a silent part. I feel like we are the hands helping to guide him and supporting him without being in the spotlight.”
“He’s such a wonderful priest, and it’s an honor to pray for him.”
Her eight-year-old son, Marco, smiles wide when asked how he feels about his mom being part of the Seven Sisters. “It makes me feel happy. I think it is a good experience for her, and I think she really likes it. She talks about it every time she gets home from prayer.”
“She is the best example of faith for me.”
For more information about the Seven Sisters in the Diocese of Camden, contact sevensisterssouthjersey@gmail.com. For more information about the apostolate, visit sevensistersapostolate.org.
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