Sonia Navarro has been a nun for 11 years for The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, which is also called a congregation. Each nun belongs to one, it’s considered their family for the next certain amount of years or until they switch congregations. She wanted to become a nun for her “interest in serving the people.”

Navarro stated, “I was fulfilling my dream working as a nurse for the congregation at St. Joseph Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania.” She left the congregation for personal reasons saying, “Life changes and so does you, feeling that I could serve the people in a different way.” As for now, she has been working with the Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia as a case manager and child birth educator, providing parenting classes for the Department of DHS. When asking if she had to do it all over again, would she choose the same career path, “I would have, it’s a special call with a very beautiful life.”

She realized she wanted to become a nun when she was living in a very small town. “The most important thing in that town was going to school, attending church, and being with your family. I spent a lot of time with the nuns and doing activities with the church. I felt like I was being called to that special life. I was 13 when I felt this way and I went to the convent when I was 23, after I finished my nursing degree. After this whole experience, she does feel closer to God. She says “God’s presence is everywhere and you can serve him in so many special ways.” Her influence to become a nun was from a  friend named Chiqui. She loved to be with the nuns and so did Sonia. “She invited me to go to retreats and activities with the Sisters; I fell in love with the ministry.” She still keeps in contact with the nuns, visiting almost every other weekend. She is always helping and plans to for the rest of her time.