It wasn't until after college that Kendra Baker started thinking about becoming a nun. She was raised as a Roman Catholic, but after her father fell from the roof of her home and suffered serious injuries that threatened her life, her family asked a priest to come and pray with them. I called. A few hours later, her father opened his eyes.
“He's relearning how to walk, talk, drive. He can eat normally,” Baker, 25, said. “And the doctor told me to prepare for the funeral.”
This wasn't the only experience that motivated Baker. After Baker graduated from Western Washington University in 2021, he moved to Seattle and began feeling a “gentle nudge” toward religious life. “It's not a divine voice saying, 'Kendra, go to the convent now,'” she said. “It's just a very gentle voice.”
After much thought and research, Ms. Baker found a religious community that seemed to align with her interests in both contemplative spirituality and active ministry, and she soon joined the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart in Los Angeles. I was accepted as a candidate. The only thing keeping her from participating was her. That's student loan debt.
Those wishing to enter religious life in the Catholic tradition usually have to pay off all their debts and be prepared to take a vow of poverty, while others living in religious communities usually have no income You can't make payments because you haven't earned any money and don't own the assets. The debt they incurred as believers. If they're among the 20 percent of Americans with a bachelor's degree who have student loan debt, that could pose a serious problem.
More than a decade ago, a report from the National Council on Religious Missions pointed to factors such as ballooning tuition costs and stagnant wages, saying that “educational debt is a deterrent for many who understand religious mission.” The data confirming this caused alarm. Since then, average student loan debt in the U.S. has steadily increased, reaching an average of about $30,000 in 2023.
Several organizations have emerged to support religious candidates who are addressing this issue. Baker contacted the Rabelais Society, a nonprofit Catholic organization that has helped more than 400 people form a faith since its founding in 2003.
The average student loan amount for a Laboure candidate or applicant is approximately $100,000, and they are typically given a goal of raising $60,000 in a six-month cycle, during which time a Laboure facilitator will We will train you on how to make calls, write letters, and hold meetings. with potential donors within the community. Donations from retired widows who wanted to donate the proceeds from the sale of their homes ranged from a few thousand dollars to $130,000.
Baker said she doesn't feel comfortable shouldering the full amount of the debt, but it would have taken another five to 10 years to pay it off had she not found help through the LaBre Society. Instead, she achieved her goal within six months and this summer she plans to join a religious community in Los Angeles.
Jake Smith had already completed three years of medical school when he decided he wanted to join the priesthood. He is the second oldest of 12 children in a Catholic family that he describes as “the salt of the earth and the light of the world,” and remembers an early call to religious vocation at the age of 14.
Smith, 31, who grew up wanting to get married and start a family one day, felt conflicted and did his best to avoid the idea of joining the priesthood for as long as possible.
“When I got accepted into medical school, I felt like I threw my acceptance letter in front of God. I thought, 'Okay, God, there's no way you're going to get in,'” he said. the current me. I'm going to be the best doctor you've ever had. I'm going to be the best father in the world. So please leave all this vocation to me. ”
But three years into my medical studies in Denver, after spending a day on my family medicine rotation, I found myself thinking again about the priesthood and what I should include in my first sermon. .
“I realized this was something that was never going to go away,” Smith said. After consulting with his church priest and speaking with his parish's vocations director, he began to realize that his student loan debt (in the low six figures) was a major stumbling block.
Diocesan priests, unlike priests living in religious communities, usually receive modest salaries and are sometimes allowed to take on small amounts of debt before enrolling in seminary. But for people like Mr. Smith, significant student loan debt can delay entry into the priesthood for years or even indefinitely.
Smith hopes to pay off her student loans in the next 12 to 18 months through the LaBre Society, by soliciting donations from local Catholics and speaking with people interested in supporting religious vocations. Already, just under $60,000 has been raised.
For those with less extensive Catholic networks, fundraising may take a different form.
Kristen Chenoweth converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism in her mid-20s, but she had no long-standing or family ties to the Catholic Church. Chenoweth, now 30, had accumulated about $80,000 in student loan debt after earning his bachelor's degree in family services and master's degree in nonprofit administration. She was accepted into the Dominican Sisters of the Province of the Immaculate Conception in Illinois, but she could not take her first steps into religious life until her debts were repaid.
She began paying off her loans by working and living frugally, raising money for her parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and selling rosaries on Etsy.
Chenoweth made about $5,000 through her Etsy shop and raised $23,000 on GoFundMe with the help of Dominican Sisters. Just recently, she received news that the Vocation Fund, another Catholic organization that provides student loan assistance, will pay off the remainder of her loan, and she plans to join a religious community this summer.
Unlike the LaBre Society, the Vocation Fund does not require applicants to raise funds, but instead directly pays monthly student loan payments throughout the period of formation with a religious community.
Founded in the early 2000s, the Vocation Fund has grown significantly in recent years to meet demand. Last year, the organization was able to distribute 28 grants totaling about $900,000, ranging from about $5,000 to more than $75,000, depending on the applicant's needs.
Young applicants often have a much shorter loan repayment period. Some religious orders have an age limit for applicants up to her 30s, adding further pressure. Additionally, while many religious communities and seminaries do not require applicants to have a college degree, they may encourage or require one, especially if their members provide health care or educational services to the community. There are some places where you can do that.
Upon taking final vows, a person who enters religious life also enters into an entirely new economic reality. For Sister Gianna Casino, living as a religious sister in the Leaven Community of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and taking her final vows in 2020 has given her a sense of financial freedom. Ta.
Sister Gianna, 30, a former biochemistry major, graduated with more than $20,000 in student loans. She began her religious formation with an agreement that her monthly payments would be covered by her family and paid off before taking her final vows. When her family faced financial difficulties several years into her incorporation process, the Vocational Fund agreed to repay the remainder of her loan.
Now, her religious organization covers her expenses, including tuition, so she can pursue her education again without fear of racking up more debt. Sister Gianna is studying to become a clinical mental health counselor at Divine Mercy College, and she completed her mental health training at Harvard Medical School. Her degree is free, but any income she earns after graduation will be distributed to the religious order.
Many religious organizations are funded by donations and business, such as the chocolates and candy sold by members of Our Lady of Mississippi Convent Church in Dubuque, Iowa, while members such as nurses and educators work outside jobs. Some organizations pool their income.
“I am able to study without worrying or worrying,” Sister Gianna said. “I am able to focus on prayer, and I am able to focus spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually on the people I will be serving over the next few years and now, because my community Because they support me financially in this way.”
Although the sacrifices can be great, religious life can also provide a rare kind of freedom from the typical financial constraints and stressors that govern most people's lives.
“It reminds me of the Gospel of Luke,” Sister Gianna said. “Jesus said, 'You cannot serve two masters.' You cannot serve God and money.”
