A prominent Catholic Religious announced that she is discerning the creation of a new religious community seeking “the healing and renewal of the Church through the healing and renewal of the priesthood and religious life”.
Sr Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, an author, speaker and co-host of the “Abiding Together” podcast and narrator on the prayer app Hallow, announced the start of the discernment process for the new community in a September 21 post on X.
“After several years of private discernment, I would like to announce to you with great reverence and care that, with the blessing of my religious community, the Sisters of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), and the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his Excellency Jeffrey S. Grob, I am officially entering into a time of public discernment of the foundation of a new religious community, Friends of the Bridegroom,” wrote Sr Heidland.
She continued: “The pathway here has been richly blessed by the wisdom and guidance of my spiritual director, my superiors, the competent ecclesiastical authorities, and so many dear friends and advisors.”
Throughout her work in “the area of healing”, as well as with members of the clergy and religious sisters, Sr Heidland has seen and experienced “the need and ache for the ongoing healing and renewal of our clergy and religious sisters”.
For the last three years, Sr Heidland has served as the executive director of Friends of the Bridegroom, along with Fr John Burns. Friends of the Bridegroom, she explained on X, “is an apostolate that seeks to renew the Church through the renewal of religious life and the priesthood.”
Her time with this apostolate has been “profoundly blessed”, she said, and “the Lord has continually stirred a desire in all of us in the apostolate to discern the foundation of a new community of priests, religious sisters, and laity who would work toward this important renewal”.
While she is discerning the creation of this community, the existing apostolate and Sr Heidland’s public activities will be overseen by Archbishop Grob, she explained, adding she was “deeply grateful for his willingness to accompany and guide this discernment during this important time”.
Additionally, Sr Heidland will remain a SOLT sister in good standing during this time of discerning.
“I am truly grateful for the support of so many people over the years and I continue to count on your prayers and support as we discern this very important step,” she said.
