SUFFERN, N.Y. – A native of Hebron was among seven women who professed vows June 25 as Sisters of Life, a religious congregation with a special fourth vow—with poverty, chastity and obedience—to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life.
The liturgy was held on feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Sacred Heart Church in Suffern, N.Y. Bishop Salvatore Matano of the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., was the principal celebrant and homilist.
Sister Miriam Bethel, 24, graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. Prior to entering the Sisters of Life in 2019, she completed an internship on a sustainable agriculture research farm and traveled throughout Spain and Ecuador volunteering and developing her Spanish. She also worked at a Catholic summer camp in Kansas.
She is the daughter of Darcy and Anne Heitmann of Hebron, and has one older brother, Russell. Her home parish is Sacred Heart in Hebron.
The Sisters of Life were founded by the late Cardinal John O’Connor in New York in 1991. They have homes in the New York area, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Ontario, Canada.
Among other things, the sisters dedicate their lives to offering support and resources to pregnant women and mothers, hosting retreats, evangelizing, practicing outreach to college students, and helping women who suffer after abortion.
