Sister Julia Walsh, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, shared her powerful journey of faith, resilience, and spiritual growth on the Your Radical Truth podcast. With a background in creative writing, spiritual direction, and education, Sister Julia offers profound insights into the intersection of creativity, spirituality, and community life. She is deeply involved in supporting women discerning their vocations, and her work as a spiritual writer has been featured in various publications. Sister Julia’s story is one of navigating challenges with grace and finding wholeness through brokenness.

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Early Life and Spiritual Calling

Sister Julia’s journey began on a farm in Iowa, where she cultivated a deep connection with nature. Her path to religious life was anything but conventional. A former waitress with a flair for the creative and adventurous, she later became a Franciscan Sister. Sister Julia’s formation included earning an MA in pastoral studies and becoming a certified spiritual director. Her work now focuses on supporting women discerning their vocations, offering a blend of spirituality and activism that challenges conventional norms.

A Near-Fatal Accident and the Spiritual Awakening

The turning point in Sister Julia’s life came when she experienced a life-threatening accident shortly after joining the Franciscan Sisters. While visiting her family farm to say goodbye before it was sold, she fell from a cliff, shattering her face. Alone in the woods, she had to climb back up the cliff and seek help. This traumatic event forced her into a profound period of reflection and prayer during her novice years, leading her to question her future in the sisterhood.

The Power of Presence: A Miraculous Encounter

During her recovery, Sister Julia experienced a miraculous encounter with a male nurse named Jesus in the ICU. This nurse’s stillness and loving presence taught her the power of being present and the profound impact of non-action in conveying love and support. This experience became a cornerstone of her spiritual journey, reinforcing the Franciscan values of presence, humility, and service.

The Memoir: For the Love of the Broken Body

Sister Julia’s memoir, For the Love of the Broken Body: A Spiritual Memoir, chronicles her journey through physical and spiritual brokenness. It explores her time as a novice, her healing process, and her ultimate decision to take her vows. The memoir is not just a story of religious life but a universal narrative about finding wholeness through brokenness. Sister Julia hopes that readers, regardless of their faith, will find inspiration in her story to reflect on their own challenges and see them as sacred opportunities for growth.

The Gift of Religious Life: A Time for Discernment

One of the key messages Sister Julia shared was the importance of discernment in religious life. She emphasized that the novitiate is a privileged time for deep contemplation and decision-making. This period allowed her to discern her calling with clarity and freedom, a process she now supports other women through as part of her ministry.

Breaking Stereotypes: The Reality of Religious Life

Sister Julia also addressed common misconceptions about religious life. She clarified that, contrary to popular belief, sisters and clergy are very much connected to the realities of life. They struggle, suffer, and experience the same human emotions as anyone else. Her testament and book aim to dispel myths about religious life, portraying sisters as real, relatable people who are deeply committed to their faith and their communities.

An Invitation to Explore

Sister Julia encouraged listeners who might be curious about religious life to explore it further. She recommended starting with local congregations, utilizing online resources like Vocation Match, or even considering becoming an affiliate with communities like the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. For those intrigued by her story, For the Love of the Broken Body offers a deeper dive into her spiritual journey and the profound lessons she learned along the way.

Sister Julia’s appearance on Your Radical Truth was more than just an interview; it was an invitation to reflect on the deeper aspects of faith, presence, and the sacredness of our own brokenness.

About Sister Julia Walsh 

Sister Julia Walsh is a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, deeply involved in her congregation’s formation team, where she guides women discerning their religious vocation. She holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from the Catholic Theological Union and is a certified spiritual director and secondary teacher.

As a creative writer, podcaster, educator, retreat presenter, and speaker, Sister Julia is passionate about exploring the intersection of creativity, spirituality, activism, and community life. Her writings have been featured in prominent publications such as America, Living Faith Catholic Devotional, Global Sisters Report, St. Anthony Messenger, and Living City. Her forthcoming spiritual memoir, For Love of the Broken Body (Monkfish), is scheduled for release in April 2024.

Raised on a goat farm in Iowa, Sister Julia developed an adventurous spirit early in life. She has a unique background, including time spent as a waitress, and is known for her love of traveling by train, her loud laugh, and her belief that fried cheese curds with a pint of Guinness make a well-balanced meal. Sister Julia finds joy in nature, often hugging trees and being mesmerized by wildflowers and unusual animals. Despite being visually impaired, she finds solace in books and divides her time between Chicago and La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Sister Julia is also a skilled cook, particularly when preparing vegetarian meals for large gatherings, and she can recite all the books of the Bible in order. Her resilience is highlighted by her survival of a serious accident involving a cliff and a creek bed. With a deep connection to Jesus of Nazareth and an outgoing introverted nature, Sister Julia Walsh brings a unique blend of spirituality, creativity, and life experience to everything she does.

About Margaret Mary O’Connor 

Margaret Mary O’Connor, as a member of the Catholic Laity, thought she knew everything about the Catholic Church, at least until she came upon a centuries-old Scandal of lies and cover-up by the Hierarchy of that Church. Frankly, she was fed up being lied to by her own Church, about its own past Church’s History on Women priests. With that realization, she truly felt in that moment, the monumental feeling of betrayal by her own Church.

Follow Margaret, as she travels down this Highway of Radical Truth where lies and outright coverup will be disclosed. Millions of Catholics are unaware of that past presence of Women Bishop’s, Women Deacons, as well as Women Priests, all there hiding in plain sight, in Early Church History.

As the complicity of this centuries-old Scandal continues, Margaret wants her fellow Catholics to learn the actual truth of this matter for themselves. She strongly believes, at minimal, any Catholic deserves the actual truth of this matter. To say that change is needed is hardly an understatement. She doesn’t let the Church’s betrayal stop her from uncovering some very fascinating Church Skeleton’s – one which very well might help solve our current priest shortage issue today.

Margaret Mary O’Connor has been called, “The Modern Day David” on many occasions. On a mission to reveal carefully guarded secrets of the Catholic Church, she unveils the truth through her well-researched writings.

Author of Scandal in the Shadows and Journey of a Celiac’s Soul, Margaret Mary is a force to be reckoned with.