Sister Sheryl Catherine Guzek, O.Carm., pronounces her solemn vows before the prioress, Sister Lucia La Montagne, O.Carm., The Most Reverend Raphael M. Fliss, Bishop of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, officiated.

We celebrate Sister Sheryl Catherine Guszek, O.Carm., a member of the Carmelite Monastery in Hudson, Wisconsin who recently received her solemn vows as Carmelite nun.

For Sister Sheryl Catherine Guzek, O.Carm., August 10, 2007, marked the culmination of years of searching to know God’s call in her life, and follow that call step by step. On that day the former youth minister at Sacred Heart Parish in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, pronounced her solemn (final) vows as a Carmelite Nun, and a member of the Carmelite Monastery in Hudson, Wisconsin. The ritual and Mass were held at Saint Patrick’s Parish in Hudson, where relatives and friends had gathered for the occasion.

Bishop Raphael M. Fliss, head of the Superior Diocese, presided. The date also coincided with the 50th wedding anniversary of Sister Sheryl’s parents, Clarence and Lorraine Guzek. It was her parents who launched Sister Sheryl on her journey of faith. ”They provided for me a strong foundation in my Catholic faith and a love for God in my life,“ said Sister Sheryl. Sister Sheryl is the eldest of five children. While in High school, she had some thought of becoming a Sister of Saint Joseph, but soon put that idea aside. She graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, and went on to college at Saint Benedict’s in Saint Joseph. There she obtained a degree in theology. Sister Sheryl became a director of religious education and a youth minister. She also spent two years in lay ministry work in Venezuela.

Her spiritual journey evolved over the years. Her love for Jesus grew deeper during her connection with the Agassiz Valley TEC program, (Together Encountering Christ, a three-day Catholic retreat experience focused on the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ). The Life Teen program that she was involved with at Sacred Heart church in east Grand Forks, during her last position as a youth minister was a further driving force of her call to religious life. Only after reading the book, The Story of A Soul, the autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux, did she really feel the call to pursue religious life and a vocation to Carmel.