Sisters Have Prayed Non-Stop for 100 Years

If you walk into the Chapel of Divine Love in Philadelphia, PA, you’re sure to find one or more Pink Sisters, as they’re called, keeping a silent prayer vigil before the Blessed Sacrament, the consecrated bread they uphold as the body and blood of Christ. In fact, if you enter the chapel at any time of day or night, you’re certain to see them doing so because they’ve been in a state of constant, 24-hour prayer for more than 100 years.

It was German diocesan priest, Saint Arnold Janssen, who in 1896 established the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, more commonly known as the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, in Holland to provide intercessory prayer for all those he was assisting through two separate missionary organizations. Their first convent and chapel outside the Motherhouse, were founded in Philadelphia in 1915 with locations in St. Louis, MO, Corpus Christi, TX and Lincoln, NE coming in later years. Today, 420 Holy Spirit Adoration sisters hold round-the-clock prayer vigils in 22 convents across 12 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, Togo, Chile and the United States of America.

 
Nicknamed the Pink Sisters because of the beautiful pink habits they wear, they work in shifts offering up prayers for people they’ll never meet receiving missionary services in places all over the world that they’ll never see. It’s an incredible act of service that’s part of a simple, secluded life they lead inside the convent, only leaving for emergencies and obligations such as doctor appointments. During their free time, they craft Mass cards and rosaries for sale, and take phone calls from a social support service line where they offer advice and resource referrals. They also enjoy visits from their families several times per year.

In honor of the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters and the 24-hour prayer they’ve offered for tens of millions all over the world for the last 100 years, the Love Button Global Movement has issued a special pink Love Button to commemorate their astounding achievement and commitment to changing the world through love. Let us learn from their example what it means to keep a divine vigil in our hearts for the betterment of mankind and how to truly pray without ceasing.