EDITOR’S NOTE: National Marriage Week is observed Feb. 7-14, and World Marriage Day is Sunday, Feb. 8.
Since arriving in Columbus in October 2018, the Sisters of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget have made an impact beyond young women discerning consecrated life.
The Bridgettine Sisters, who reside at the Convent of St. Birgitta adjacent to Columbus Holy Family Church on the city’s west side, are attracting a growing number of young married couples and families.
Several married couples meet for monthly dinners at the convent.
Fluctuating family schedules can often shift monthly gatherings, but couples gather with the religious sisters for potluck-style dinners when they are able. About 12 couples are active in the group.
Mother Eunice, who is mother superior of the Bridgettine community in Columbus, also hosts a small-group book club for young mothers each month. The group’s conversations center on motherhood, family and their vocation.
Callie, 25, and Nate Meyer, 27, graduates of Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare School and Columbus Bishop Watterson High School, are active at the convent.
The couple, who married in 2023 and belong to Columbus St. Mary Church in the German Village neighborhood, reside in Hilliard with their son Beau, 1.
“Seeing other marriages lived faithfully, alongside the steady witness of the sisters, continually draws us back to prayer, sacrifice and intentional love.”
The Meyers were introduced to the Bridgettines by Father Stash Dailey, who led the couple in marriage preparation. Father Dailey, now pastor at Worthington St. Michael the Archangel Church, invited them to join young married couples at the convent for meals and fellowship.
“Being connected to the sisters and to other couples has been incredibly enriching for our marriage,” Callie affirmed. “It reminds us that we are not living our vocation in isolation.
The couple’s relationship with the consecrated sisters has been grounding. Nate described the Bridgettine community as an anchor, especially when facing worldly demands and distractions.
“Entering this season of life newly married, raising a child and building a career, it can be overwhelming,” he admitted. “Having a relationship with the Bridgettines and being connected to other young Catholic families gives us both fellowship and a steady model to follow.
“Their presence helps us remain intentional about our marriage, our faith and the way we choose to build our life together.”
Per Mother Eunice’s recommendation, the Meyers said they plan to enthrone their home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In addition to couple dinners, Nate has volunteered at the convent with a group of men, lending a hand during ongoing renovations to the compound. The men helped place a fountain, clear debris and work on the convent’s walkway.
“What I also deeply admire is the level of sacrifice their vocation requires,” Nate said of the sisters. “Being cloistered, they give up many of the everyday freedoms most of us take for granted in order to devote their lives to God and to praying for and serving others.
“Spending time with them gave me a new perspective on intentionality, selflessness and what it looks like to truly love others by first loving God.”
Callie regularly participates in Mother Eunice’s book club for young mothers.
The group of lay women meet in Madonna Hall at the convent. The children interact with each other while their mothers sit and talk.
“It also gives us a chance to ask (Mother Eunice) questions either about something that we’re reading, or the season in the Church, or different things – just to have that one-on-one time with her,” said Sarah Hill, 34, who regularly participates.
“Mother Eunice has been really good for the Columbus convent and community, and especially young women. She’s been a really good mentor.”
Six sisters currently reside at the Bridgettine convent in Columbus.
The community’s primary charism is unity among Christians. Consecrated religious in the order live a simple lifestyle of prayer and hospitality.
Callie noted a profound sense of welcome and care when visiting the convent. She described the community as present and intentional.
“They are thoughtful in the smallest, most meaningful ways,” she said of the religious sisters. “They make sure we are always fed, that our babies have blankets to play on, and that the space feels peaceful and comfortable for families.
“There is never a sense of inconvenience or rush. The convent feels like a true home with personal care and maternal attentiveness — one where you slow down and are seen and valued.”
Hill and her husband Austin, 34, are also active at the convent. The couple married in 2019 and met the Bridgettines later that year. They are parents to son John, 3, and belong to Holy Family Church.
In a unique blend of vocations, Austin attended seminary and studied for the priesthood before discerning a call to marriage. Now a husband and father, he is also active with religious sisters in consecrated life at the convent.
“Mother Eunice has been really a big part of Austin’s life,” Sarah noted. “He started going to daily Mass there (at 7 a.m.) in the mornings, and she’s always got some kind of challenge, or piece of advice, or something for him.”
In the beginning of their marriage, the Hills attended Evening Prayer, part of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, at the Bridgettine convent on Fridays. Mother Eunice made tea for the couple afterward, and they quickly developed a relationship.
In the first six months of married life, the couple suffered a miscarriage and lost their child.
During the next three years, Sarah and Austin spent much time at the Bridgettine convent chapel in prayer as they carried the cross of infertility. The Bridgettine Sisters were by the couple’s side interceding.
In November 2022, the Hills welcomed their son John. “I always say that they prayed him here just as much as we did,” Sarah said.
John, the fruit of many prayers, can now be found in the Bridgettine convent chapel on Tuesdays.
Sarah brings her young son to Adore the Blessed Sacrament each week, a tradition she has maintained since being pregnant with him. Outside of the womb, John has attended Adoration at the convent since he was about six weeks old.
“We go, and then go pray for an hour, and then he goes and gets either some ice cream or a piece of cake, and then he gets to play with the sisters for a little bit before we go home,” Sarah said.
“I love that he gets to grow up there and doesn’t really know any different. Most 3-year-olds wouldn’t go sit in silence for an hour, but that’s just part of his routine, and he knows that’s what we do on Tuesdays.”
Avery Hays, 25, and her husband, Tanner, 27, who reside in Plain City, also regularly meet with young married couples at the convent for dinners and developed a close relationship with the Bridgettines.
“The lives of semi-cloistered religious sisters and young married couples with children might seem very different, but the parallels run deep,” Avery said. “Both vocations require discipline, humility, faith and an abundance of love. Both demand daily self-sacrifice.
“Having a relationship with the Bridgettines … we are never walking alone. We can always count on them to lift up our prayers, and their presence has deeply enriched our lives and marriage.”
The Hayses, who married in 2023 and belong to Columbus-Powell St. Peter St. Joan of Arc parish, are parents to a 4-month-old daughter, Scottie.
Avery, a 2018 graduate of Bishop Watterson, shared that the Bridgettine convent was the first place she visited after giving birth.
She is active in Mother Eunice’s small-group book club at the convent. The mother superior’s “spiritual motherhood within religious life translates beautifully into wisdom for motherhood within the family,” she noted.
For young married couples and parents, Avery described the Convent of St. Birgitta as a “place of encouragement, prayer and genuine community.
“We spend time catching up, sharing honestly about parenthood, striving to live out our Catholic faith in a busy season of life, and supporting one another,” she said of young married couples.
“We also draw continual inspiration from the sisters and the way they live their vocation. Their vocation continually inspires and strengthens our own.”
The Bridgettine Order was founded by St. Bridget of Sweden in the 14th century. The order’s spirituality is rooted in a deep love of Christ, especially in remembrance of His sufferings.
The Bridgettine Sisters are present in 19 countries, including two convents in the United States: Columbus and Darien, Connecticut. The order’s motherhouse in Rome is the former dwelling of St. Bridget of Sweden.
To learn more or get involved in Columbus, visit www.Bridgettines.com. For more information about National Marriage Week and World Marriage Day, visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at www.usccb.org/topics/marriage-and-family-life-ministries/national-marriage-week.