By Magdalene Krzeczkowski
General Editor
On the second floor of St. Thomas More Hall is the Our Lady of Guadalupe chapel. Just down the hall is the sky-blue common room of Mary Spouse of the Spirit, one of Franciscan’s smallest and oldest women’s households.
Under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, the members, lovingly called “Spousers,” dedicate themselves to discerning God’s Will for their lives.
Their household patrons are Mary, Spouse of the Spirit; St. Joseph, Protector of Virgins; and the Holy Spirit. The household sisters devote themselves to the charisms of simplicity, purity and humility, mirroring the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Weekly commitments begin with a closed business meeting Sundays at 6 p.m., followed by a share group, where sisters discuss and grow in discernment. Discernment Formation Night (DFN) is held Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m., usually led by a guest speaker such as a professed religious, professor or spiritual director.
The sisters pray a Holy Hour from 8-9 p.m. Wednesdays; this begins with a Rosary, which is then followed by silent prayer. On Thursdays, the sisters attend 6:30 a.m. Mass, followed by morning prayer with the Priestly Discernment Program and breakfast. The week concludes with Saturday Lord’s Day at 4 p.m.
Mary Spouse had its origins in one of the original mandatory households founded in 1974 when the Reverend Michael Scanlan, T.O.R., established households as a feature of the university. Sister Mary Rose Bralien, T.O.R., a student at Franciscan in the 1980s, started a support group for other young women who were in the process of discerning religious life.
This support group, which split from the original household Heart of Mary, had its beginnings as a small gathering of girls to help each other on the journey of discernment. However, it grew into something more in a few short years.
In the spring of 1992, the group officially became Mary Spouse of the Spirit under coordinators Mary Taylor and Theresa Palanos. Over time, the household moved from the formerly female dorm Trinity Hall, where Heart of Mary was located, to Marian Hall, and then to its current location in Thomas More.
As a religious discernment household, Mary Spouse has always had a professed religious sister as household advisor, typically a Carmelite, a T.O.R., or a Martyr of St. George. The first two advisors were Sister Mary Seraphica and Sister Mary Gabriella.
Mary Spouse received the St. Clare Award in 2015 and the St. Francis Award in 2024.
Although Mary Spouse has been a small household at times since its founding in 1992, it has never died out. Many former members, including professed religious, even maintain contact with the household after leaving the university.
The household currently includes four inducted sisters: coordinator and junior sacred music major Zarah Wheeler — intented spring 2023; junior history major Elizabeth Hildebrand — intented spring 2023; sophomore theology and catechetics major Bernadette Bede, who is currently in Austria — intented spring 2024; and freshman pre-nursing major Gianna Resuta — intented fall 2024.
There is also currently one intent, junior theology major Sarah Kahler.
According to Wheeler, approximately one in every 3-5 women discern out of Mary Spouse, or about a third of the household sisters. One reason can be that girls consider religious life to be a better vocation than marriage.
“Your higher calling is where God wants you to be, not where you want to be,” Wheeler explained. “Yes, it is the higher calling. But is it the higher calling for you?