In 1954 a young nun by the name of Sister Bernadette Lynch, MM, was profiled in none other than Cosmopolitan magazine and photographed by the legendary George Barris, who also photographed the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.

Sister Bernie's mission crucifix, a symbol of her misionary vocation, given to her before departing for her assignment in Bolivia

The topic? An article presenting religious life as an attractive option for young women through the story of someone their age who embraced it. Sounds like a typical Cosmo story, right? Well the article following Bernie’s journey into religious life with the Maryknoll Sisters was so well received that the book author Sister Maria del Ray Danforth, MM, and George Barris decided to create a book based on the article. Thus was born Bernie Becomes a Nun a fascinating book that describes the process of becoming a sister from the inside out, complete with over 200 photos with captions from Bernie about what she was thinking and feeling. The book, published in 1956 by Farrar, Straus and Company, had a huge impact on young women — both those who found that extra encouragement to pursue a religious vocation and those who felt called to other vocations through marriage or ministry. And, not only does the book continue to inspire people, but Sister Bernie herself continues to be an inspiration.

Yesterday, Sister Maxine and I met Sister Bernie for the first time via phone and got to talk with her a bit about her experience with the book and as a missioner for over 61 years! Sister Bernie will be joining us tomorrow night for In Good Faith podcast — a live broadcast at 7 p.m. CST (your time zone). We’ll talk with Sister Bernie about the book, life as a missioner and Maryknoll sister, and what it means for each of us to be a missioner in everyday life.

The classic book Bernie Becomes a Nun by Sister Maria del Rey with photographs by George Barris (New York: Farrar, Straus & Company, 1956)

More on Sister Bernie tomorrow!

For today, we wanted to be sure to tell you about the book which is a classic — out-of-print and not easy to find! We were fortunate enough to score one from our dear friend Suze!

The book has four parts:

• Entrance – You make up  your mind
• Postulancy – You knock on the door
• Novitiate - Just inside
• Professed - At home, within

Each of the four parts begins with some writing by Sister Maria describing the stage of becoming a nun in ordinary, accessible language. Here’s the beginning of the book for example:

It isn’t so easy to start being a Sister.

If you appear at the front door of any convent, for instance, and announce, “Here I am, ready to live my life for God,” I am sure the Sisters will tell you, “Think it over and come back in six months or so.” That is, unless they know you very well and realize that you have already been thinking about it for a long time.

Let’s get down to the crux of a vocation. You must begin with the basic question, “Why do I want to be a Sister?” …

You see, a religious vocation is not a question of your making a heroic gesture of “throwing your life away,” “trampling on the glittering pleasures of the world,” “toss away the joys of married life.” No. It is simply a matter of following the path God points out for you.

Throughout each part, we are treated with photos of Bernie and her reflections on her journey from deciding to enter religious life to boarding the Santa Luisa as a professed sister and missioner headed to Bolivia.

We look forward to a conversation with Sister Bernie tomorrow night. And we would love for you to join us by listening in and chatting with us in the chat room during the live broadcast where you can ask your questions and interact with us and other listeners! More info tomorrow!

Sister Bernie Galvin, cdp, is a Catholic nun belonging to the Sisters of Divine Providence of San Antonio, Texas. She’s been in the San Francisco newspapers because she recently retired from Religious Witness, an organization which she founded to help people who are homeless. Here’s what Heather Knight of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about Sister Bernie today:

Sister Bernie Galvin, a Catholic nun and former junior high school teacher turned homeless advocate, founded Religious Witness with Homeless People 15 years ago and has been a regular City Hall presence ever since.

She’s fought against sweeps of homeless people and against city efforts to hand out tickets for crimes like camping on the sidewalk and holding an open booze container. She famously held a three-day memorial service in 2005 for the nearly 2,000 homeless people who had died over 18 years in the city.

But she’s exhausted herself in the process and following the recent deaths of her mother and sister, she needs a break. She is leaving her organization to spend a year in solitude – likely at a retreat praying, reading and painting.

“Whatever feeds my soul,” she said.

She’s leaving Religious Witness permanently, but not retiring. She’ll be back in some fashion, she told supporters in a letter.

“This sabbatical year is not to be construed as ‘retirement,’ ” she wrote. “For me, the age of 75 years is much too early to consider retirement, for heaven sake!”

Blessings to Sister Bernie on her year of sabatical. Our prayers are with you.