Sister Pauline Nugent, through her intuition, search, love and service, has devoted her life as a CCVI to the field of education affecting radically the development of communities. Read her story here:

A Life-Long Commitment

It is a privilege for me to live as a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (CCVI) in San Antonio, Texas.

We have a life-long commitment that leads us to make the love of the Incarnate Word a reality in the ordinary events of daily life. Sustained by a life of contemplative prayer and with the support of the Community, we learn to create a safe and sacred space in our relations with others so that we may be able to affirm the dignity and the differences of those we serve.

I learned the reality of God’s love through experience, in the core of my catholic family in Ireland, where my religious vocation was nurtured and received support through daily prayer and Christian life.

When I was fifteen years old, I left everything to follow Christ as a missioner, making a decision that produced a great impact in my life; and I have never regretted making this decision. This personal calling, accompanied by the dynamic and personal experience of God’s gentle love for all his people, has filled me with inner joy and peace even in the midst of the challenges and difficulties I have faced in life.

My active ministry has been teaching; a profession that I love and value deeply. Regardless of the level of instruction or the subject matter, I consider that this noble profession is a position from which one causes the greatest impact in producing benefits in the life of people. In my youth, I started with first grade children; it actually was an incredible joy. Later, I taught Latin, French and German at Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio. After that, I taught six levels of French to the Students at Incarnate Word College in Galway, Ireland. In the fall of 2014, I celebrated my 23rd anniversary as a teacher of Biblical Languages; as I taught Latin, Greek and Hebrew at the Missouri State University, in Springfield, MO.

In a very real sense, my life providentially has closed a cycle and has allowed me to make real the dream of being a missioner, a dream that led me to leave my home, my family and my country so many decades ago.

Every day offers us once more the opportunity and the privilege to interact with youth at a personal level, encouraging them, challenging them and supporting them… as they make their dreams come true.

It is my sincere hope and my fervent prayer that the parents of our times nurture in their families a deep and personal experience of God’s love and by doing so foster religious vocations in those who will become witnesses of God’s faithful love in the 21^st century and beyond.