On January 24, 2015, Sister Beatriz de Sousa, OSF professed her perpetual vows in the Congregation and become the newest member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate.

Sister Beatriz was born and raised in Brazil. In 2006, she joined the Irmãs Franciscanas (Franciscan Sisters) where she began to live with and minister among the Joliet Franciscan Sisters. The Congregation had established its Brazilian Mission in 1963. In 2010, Sister Beatriz professed her simple vows and offi cially became a member of the Congregation. She was then referred to as “Sister” Beatriz.

As a teenager she began to participate actively in her local parish. “It was because of my participation at church that fi rst sparked a desire in me to experience religious life,” said Sister Beatriz. Years later, she remembers meeting the Joliet Franciscans and the impact they made in her life. “I began to appreciate the work of the Sisters, and the desire to share in their way of life grew in me,” she said.

Sisters Beatriz, Dolores Zemont, President, and Margaret Noser, Regional Coordinator, during the Profession Ceremony in Brazil.

Sister Dolores Zemont, President of the Congregation, travelled to Brazil with Sr. Dorothy Kinsella, who is serving as historian of the Congregation, to participate in the final vow ceremony. During this ceremony, Sister Beatriz will profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and be bound by the Constitutions of the Congregation which were amended and approved on October 4, 1985, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Sister Beatriz will continue to minister as a teacher in Goiania, Brazil.