“When I was a child, we had an altar in our home with an image of the Virgin Mary.” Thus begins Sister Zenyril’s testimony, a simple yet profound memory that reveals how faith lived within the family can shape the course of an entire life.
From a very young age, prayer was part of her daily life. “My parents would even wake us up at dawn to pray the rosary,” she recalls. Those gestures, repeated day after day, left a silent yet firm imprint.
Upon entering the Congregation of the Sisters Hospitallers, Sister Zenyril discovered that the presence she had learned of in childhood continued to accompany her. “When I entered the Congregation, I felt her maternal care, her closeness, her presence every day.”
Sister Zenyril’s testimony demonstrates the meaning of the Hospitaller vocation. Being a Sister Hospitaller means beginning a life-transforming adventure with Jesus, allowing oneself to be challenged by the pain of the sick and vulnerable, and responding with closeness, listening, understanding, and service. It is a vocation that does not diminish the person, but rather helps them grow, enhancing their gifts and helping them identify increasingly with Jesus’s way of loving.
For many young women, stories like Sister Zenyril’s become an invitation to look at their own lives with greater depth and to ask themselves where and how God continues to speak today. Sometimes, the answer begins in simple things: in a home, an altar, a shared prayer, and a path that, over time, becomes dedication and hospitality.
