Kathleen McGrath rscj and Diana Wall rscj. Photo by Gail O'Donnell rscj.

On January 31, 2010, two RSCJ from the U.S. Province, Diana Wall and Kathleen McGrath, made their final vows at Villa Lante in Rome. They were among fourteen RSCJ from around the world who made final profession and declared the following:

I, ............ wishing to follow Jesus Christ more closely, promise to Almighty God, obedience, poverty, and chastity, and, according to obedience, to dedicate myself to the education of youth in the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus forever, in conformity with its Constitutions. Trusting in the fidelity of God and in the love of my sisters, I make these perpetual vows before you, Kathleen Conan, our Superior General.

Final profession for an RSCJ usually occurs after at least nine years of preparation, often more. Sister McGrath entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1999, after receiving her MDiv from the Weston School of Theology. Sister Wall entered in 1997 and holds a Nursing degree from the University of San Francisco and an MBA from Golden Gate University, San Francisco.

Since 1999, Sister McGrath has been involved in spiritual direction and work with the homeless, including serving as co-director of Southwest Chicago PADS, an organization that provides services for homeless people. She spent nine months with the RSCJ in Argentina prior to going to Rome to prepare for final profession and will return to the Boston area to work at St. Francis House, a facility for homeless people, in Boston. Sister Wall has a background in healthcare and business and served on the Eldercare Transition Team in Albany, New York, and as capital campaign director at the Academy of the Sacred Heart (The Rosary), New Orleans. She has just returned from a year of international experience in Uganda, with language study in Grenada, Spain, and preparation for final profession in Rome.