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Vocations...
A Wisdom Story
Sr. Camille
Daughter of Wisdom Sister Camille Solis came to the final profession
of her vows by an unusual route: she was married, and is also a mother
of two and grandmother of four.
As she professed her Final Vows in October 2005, these deep life connections were reflected in the overflow crowd of Daughters of Wisdom, family, friends, and co-workers. Among those present were Sister Camille's mother, Winnie Petrone; Sister Camille's son, Robert Solis, his wife, Laurie, and their five-month-old daughter, Olivia; Sister Camille's daughter, Lisa Burke, her husband, Mark, and their three children, Marra, Stephanie, and Nicole.
Sister Camille, born in East Harlem to Nicholas (deceased) and Winnie Petrone, earned her nursing degree in 1965 and married at the age of 20. She raised her son, Robert, and her daughter, Lisa, in Ozone Park, Queens. At the same time, she worked with developmentally disabled children as a nurse for the Brooklyn diocese (1984-1997).
She met the Daughters of Wisdom through work at her parish,
St. Mary Gate of heaven, Ozone Park, where she provided catechesis, ran
the Baptismal
program, and served as a Eucharistic minister.
Of the end of her marriage of 27 years and her annulment, Sister Camille remembers that, "It was during these years that I was highly attracted to Wisdom spirituality. After a few years of living singly, it seemed inevitable that I would enter religious life as a Daughter of Wisdom…I learned during this time that, when one wants to marry, it's not just anyone that would suit her. It is the same with religious life. You join a community that you love and in which you feel comfortable."
So it was that, at the age of 50, Camille wrote to ask for entrance into the Daughters of Wisdom, an international congregation of Catholic women religious who minister on five continents and in 23 countries.
Sister Camille is one of 17,000 women who
have professed their vows as Daughters of Wisdom since their foundation
in France in 1703. |
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During her first year of novitiate formation in the community, Sister Camille learned more about the Daughters of Wisdom, their spirituality and mission. In the second year of her novitiate, she provided spiritual development for women at In-the-Making, a program for unemployed and underemployed women in Waterbury, Connecticut, supported by the Daughters of Wisdom. She also worked at a nursing home and spent time with Daughters of Wisdom in Ruskin, Florida, where she provided food from the parish pantry for Mexican migrant workers, and modeled parenting skills for women in a court-mandated program. In New York, she worked as a nurse at Maryhaven Center of Hope, an establishment of the Daughters of Wisdom, in Port Jefferson Station.
In reflecting on this moment in her life, Sister Camille
commented, "It is through the very fine example of the sisters that came
before me that
I find my inspiration. It is through the fine example of all the people
that I have ministered with that helps me to live out my vows authentically.
It is through witnessing their fidelity to family, church and each other
that I model my commitment to the Daughters of Wisdom and to God's
people…So as I continue the rest of my life, I pray for the grace
to live out these promises to God and I am most aware that Wisdom has
kept Her promise to me."
