Servants Of The Afflicted Of St. Dymphna?

[Renee the Nunnabe]

I was recently speaking with a person who claimed to be a sister from this order, but I am unable to find anything about the order online other than what she told me. 

She told me that they are a Slovakian order working with the mentally ill. That charism appeals to me very much :bounce: (and, well, my picture is of St. Dymphna for a reason), so I naturally wanted to find out more about the order, but can't find anything else about it online. :stars:  

Does anyone know anything about this order or if it is even a legitimate order? 

Thank you.  

[nikita92]

I see where you found your profile picture. Other than a blog by a person Sr.Leocadia SASD. Her blog is empty. Nothing else came up at this point. Keep searching! I will keep my eyes open for you! Blessings

[Renee the Nunnabe]

Hmm, that's a little concerning.  

Thank you! :smile4:  

[Gabriela]

Don't know anything about them, but I do love your profile picture. :-)

[Renee the Nunnabe]

Well, thank you! :smile4:  

[beatitude]

That community doesn't exist. There was one person (Leocadia) who claimed to be living in the UK preparing for the order to make an English foundation, which rang alarm bells for me as it isn't general procedure for a community to send one solitary sister to another country to make a foundation. They have to be specifically invited by the bishop of that diocese. I also noticed that whenever Leocadia talked of visiting the community in Slovakia, she would post a regretful caveat about forgetting to take pictures. No address, no phone number, no listing on any Slovakian church website, no photo of anyone other than Leocadia, wearing the sort of habit that you can get on eBay...

 

I know this much because a couple of years ago I thought they were real and wanted to correspond with them. I soon found that this would be impossible.

[beatitude]

P.S. If you're really interested in an apostolate like mental health care, have a look at the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: http://www.sistershospitallers.org/

[OnlySunshine]

The Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi in Lacon, IL also work in mental institutions.  I will happily research more communities with this apostolate.  :)

[nikita92]

Thank you beatitude for that information as well as you Mater!

[OnlySunshine]

The Vocation Director for the Daughters of St. Francis is very helpful and quick to respond to emails.  I highly recommend contacting her.  :)

[OnlySunshine]

Here are some more communities with mental health apostolates:

 

Daughters of Divine Charity (Holy Trinity Province) (CMSWR)

 

Daughters of St. Mary of Providence (Guanellians)

 

 

[Renee the Nunnabe]

That community doesn't exist. There was one person (Leocadia) who claimed to be living in the UK preparing for the order to make an English foundation, which rang alarm bells for me as it isn't general procedure for a community to send one solitary sister to another country to make a foundation. They have to be specifically invited by the bishop of that diocese. I also noticed that whenever Leocadia talked of visiting the community in Slovakia, she would post a regretful caveat about forgetting to take pictures. No address, no phone number, no listing on any Slovakian church website, no photo of anyone other than Leocadia, wearing the sort of habit that you can get on eBay...

 

I know this much because a couple of years ago I thought they were real and wanted to correspond with them. I soon found that this would be impossible.

 

 

P.S. If you're really interested in an apostolate like mental health care, have a look at the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: http://www.sistershospitallers.org/

 

 

The Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi in Lacon, IL also work in mental institutions.  I will happily research more communities with this apostolate.  :)

 

 

Here are some more communities with mental health apostolates:

 

Daughters of Divine Charity (Holy Trinity Province) (CMSWR)

 

Daughters of St. Mary of Providence (Guanellians)

 

Thank you so much for your help, guys! =)  

I had a few alarm bells when I was speaking to her and when I was unable to find an online presence for the "community," but I wanted to know for sure. Especially because the apostolate really does appeal to me. 

 

Thank you guys for the suggestions! That's very helpful! :heart:  

[Kateri89]

That's wonderful that you're attracted to a community with a mental health care apostolate. I'm a psychiatric nurse and it's sad how stigmatized mental health is. It can take its toll on the caregivers but I don't doubt that God calls some people to this work though. Just not me :)

[Renee the Nunnabe]

=)  

 

I've had my own trials with mental illness and have family members who have dealt with far worse mental illness than mine (i.e. - I have a cousin with paranoid schizophrenia), so I definitely have a place in my heart for the afflicted. The stigma is so terrible and can really keep people from getting the help they need, and so homeless are victims of mental illness. Even the misconceptions about mental illness can hurt too. :console: I think it's so important to provide some form of help to these people. 

 

I hope some people have been helped through your work as a psychiatric nurse.  :heart:  

Edited January 16, 2013 by Renee the Nunnabe

[krissylou]

Mater is Queen of the Researchers!!!

[OnlySunshine]

Mater is Queen of the Researchers!!!

 

:congrats: :hehe2:

[lanpingpug]

Just read all this about there being someone who is pretending to be a nun. It's not something I guess I thought would ever happen. I have several nuns as pen pals and don't understand much about being a nun but don't see why you would say you are one when you're not.

 

Why would someone do that? Do they want money or something? It seems like they wouldn't gain much else from just posing for some pictures and chatting to people on websites.

 

Also, it must be quite disappointing for you, Nunnabee, that you had your hopes raised about a community then to find it doesn't exist. And it seems like its insulting to real nuns who devote their lives to God.

 

I don't know much about it, but I think the person who does it must have not much in their life to do all this pretending and lying. Seems sad really.

 

Perhaps they have some mental health problems themselves. We should pray for them, I think.

 

 

[Renee the Nunnabe]

I don't know what the person had to gain from this deception. (And based on what I've been told and posts I've found on the internet, it's been going on for at least a few years now.) The goal doesn't appear to be to gain money, it seems to just be to gain attention. 

 

It was a bit disappointing. I'm just glad that I found out that it wasn't true now instead of continuing to speak to her and believing what she was saying. It was even a bit insulting, that she really thought no one would look into her claims.  

 

I agree that it seems a bit sad. To want to lie, deceive, and pretend . . . well, I imagine that the desire to do these things must come out of some loneliness and need. It's not a good place to be in.  

[lanpingpug]

I don't know what the person had to gain from this deception. (And based on what I've been told and posts I've found on the internet, it's been going on for at least a few years now.) The goal doesn't appear to be to gain money, it seems to just be to gain attention. 

 

It was a bit disappointing. I'm just glad that I found out that it wasn't true now instead of continuing to speak to her and believing what she was saying. It was even a bit insulting, that she really thought no one would look into her claims.  

 

I agree that it seems a bit sad. To want to lie, deceive, and pretend . . . well, I imagine that the desire to do these things must come out of some loneliness and need. It's not a good place to be in.  

 

Surely she can't have thought anyone wouldn't bother to look into the background of her claims! Maybe if she'd said she was a hermit or something more independent she might have got away with it for a little while longer, but it's good you found out. So what happens now? Should someone say something or...I don't know. Is she breaking a law, maybe? Can the church stop her? I guess I feel like no one else should be "conned" by her. 

 

I have a cousin who had depression when she was pregnant and she looked on the Internet for help because she didn't want to tell our family that she was ill. She found a woman who said she could heal her, for a fee. She met up with the woman who prayed over her, took the money and told my sister to cut out fruits from her diet and she would be healed. Obviously she wasn't and when we all found out we were upset that someone had been so awful to someone who was very vulnerable. 

 

I guess that this is what the "nun" is doing really. People with a vocation want to know about devoting their lives to God and if they didn't know better, might be "conned" by someone like this leocadia person.

 

Sorry to write so much, it just hit a nerve.

[cmaD2006]

Just my two cents:

 

It is easy to *jump* to a conclusion about the person in question ... the truth is that in all honesty we just don't know.  All we know is that the foundation appears to not have diocesan approval, and nothing more.

 

Is the person pretending to be a nun?  I don't know ... and if she is actually starting a community the lack of online presence may be because she was asked to keep it private?

 

What beatitude posted was fine ... she worded things well, from her point of view.  But after, that unless someone asks the person involved, it really falls under speculation.

 

Finally -- even if the person is "legit" remember that it looks like she may not yet have any diocesan recognition/approval, and per the stated new rules the discussion should be dropped.  (No -- I'm not a mod ... but just stating what has been said before by dUSt).  I do think the original question (what about xyz community) was a good one (no one knew what their status was off the bat).

 

FYI dUSt's thread: http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/125973-new-rule-for-vocation-station-starting-now/