Sister Charlene Herinckx, superior general of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, understands that each religious community’s retirement circumstances are unique. As a volunteer consultant for the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) Planning and Implementation Assistance program, she tries to help communities find strategies that are right for them.

“I believe my vocation came out of our family life on the farm,” reflects Sister Angeline Sohler, a Sister of St. Mary of Oregon. “Closeness to nature, daily work and play, and family prayer formed a rhythm of life.”

From his hilltop home at Mount Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, Oregon, Abbot Gregory Duerr, 81, can look down on the town where he lived from age 6.

Recently, the National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC) recognized the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) with an award for distinguished service.

“From the time I was in sixth grade, I was determined to be a Sister of St. Mary of Oregon,” says Sister Rita Rose Stohosky, 82. That determination paid off when she entered the community as an aspirant in September of 1952.