Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration celebrate Sister Julia Walsh’s first vows

 

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Julia Walsh professed her first vows on Friday, July 24, 2009 in Mary of the Angels Chapel in La Crosse. She celebrated with her fellow Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, family—including her parents Kevin and Elsie Walsh, and friends. During her ceremony, she received the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration medal. This medal was adopted by the community in February 1880 and is a Maltese cross with the eight points representing the eight beatitudes. Father Paul Ouderkirk, a pastor at St. Bridget’s Parish in Postville, Iowa, presided over Mass.

Sister Julia shared a reflection with guests which is now available on the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration YouTube channel.

A native of Elgin, Iowa, Sister Julia Walsh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, with a double major in history and teacher education and a minor in Catholic studies. She has served as a lobbyist intern for the Iowa Catholic Conference; Youth Corps Director for Tubman House, Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Sacramento, Calif.; volunteer for Place of Grace Catholic Worker House in La Crosse; summer program instructor for the University of Minnesota Upward Bound program in Minneapolis, Minn; and projects coordinator for Work in Progress AmeriCorp also in Minneapolis. Her most recent ministry was teaching at St. Gregory the Great high school in Chicago, Ill. Sister Julia Walsh is interested in a number of issues including youth empowerment, social justice and environmentalism.

In August, she will begin her next ministry as an instructor in the Religious Studies department at Hales Franciscan High School in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago’s south side.

Sister Julia Walsh was accepted as an associate in the incorporation phase with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in 2006 and entered the novitiate in 2007.