Praying For Priests

In July 2018, just a few short months after moving to Hendersonville from San Diego, a cousin from Arizona sent Rosemary Geiger information about a special ministry she might want to start at Our Lady of the Lake Church. The ministry is called the Seven Sisters Apostolate, and its purpose is to gather groups of seven women to keep priests and bishops lifted up in prayer. “She knew I had a devotion and love of our Catholic priests and thought this would be a ministry I would be interested in,” Geiger said. She immediately set about starting an apostolate at the parish with incredible results.

Once Geiger began praying for priests in Adoration, she found it very easy to find other women to join her. “Whenever I visited the Adoration chapel, I would see other women there to pray. I explained the apostolate to them and invited them to join,” she explained. She also asked for help from Bible study friends and the parish’s Director of Hispanic Religious Education. Since then, Our Lady of the Lake has formed three apostolate groups with 30 members among them: one for the parish pastor Eric Fowlkes, one for its associate pastor Father Thomas Kalam, and one for a former priest from the parish who returned home to India.

Throughout the diocese, four other groups have also been established: one at St. Lawrence, one at St. Edward, one at St. Pius X, and one that’s specifically for Bishop Mark Spalding. Apostolates for bishops require even greater membership and commitment, Geiger said. “7 women in the morning, 7 women in the afternoon and 7 women in the evening.”

Each member commits to a Holy Hour every week, on a set day of the week. This is to ensure that the priest or bishop is consistently lifted up in prayer throughout the year. The members may make their Holy Hours at the same parish each time if they want to but are not required to do so. This allows for flexibility if members happen to be traveling and cannot pray at their home parish. They only need to find either the nearest adoration chapel or parish with a tabernacle. In the event of an emergency, if a member cannot make her Holy Hour, she must have a substitute fill in for her. Men may become substitutes if invited to do so, but the apostolate is specifically geared towards women. Members must commit to a full year to the apostolate, and after that period may discern if they wish to continue.

Each chapter has seven core members, with one serving as Anchoress, and at least one or two others acting as substitutes. The Anchoress is the chapter’s leader. She serves for at least two years and is responsible for communicating with the chapter’s parish priest, relaying monthly updates from the Seven Sisters General Coordinator, helping coordinate substitutes for members who need one, answering members’ questions, and ensuring that members stay faithful to the mission.

The apostolate is not necessarily aimed at praying for individual priests, but rather for the institutional priesthood. In practical terms, this means that apostolates pray for the priests who have been assigned to their parish until he has been moved elsewhere, in which case they pray for his replacement. This also means that contact with the priest is kept to a minimum. A group’s Anchoress may reach out with a letter to the priest to let him know that her apostolate is praying for him, but all other contact must be initiated by the priest as needed.  

The first Seven Sisters chapter was founded in 2011 by Janette Howe, a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. Howe felt moved to pray for her pastor, Father Joseph Johnson, upon witnessing his generous friendship with her family and all he did to care for their parish. She decided to do this on a regular basis in the form of a weekly Holy Hour. On one such occasion, the phrase “Seven Sisters” came to her mind. She sensed God calling her to invite six other women to join her. When she spoke about this to Father Johnson, he advised her to start the ministry with 7 other parishes in the diocese; 49 women all together. The apostolate has since grown to more than 900 chapters around the country and the world. Howe still serves as the ministry’s General Coordinator, helping to establish new chapters and keeping in touch with chapter Anchoresses to assist them as needed. In addition to being the Anchoress at Our Lady of the Lake, Geiger has also recently been appointed Coordinator for the Nashville diocese.

Geiger thinks it is very important to pray for priests. “`St. John Vianney, the patron of priests, once said, “When people want to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest.” He also stated “`Without priests there would be no Catholic Church,’” she said.

She also encourages all women who are interested to start a group at their parish. “Never has there been an easier ministry to commit to. Please call me and I will be happy to help all parishes begin a Seven Sisters Apostolate group.” Geiger can be reached by phone at 760-505-6625 or via email at mysrose@att.net.