Earlier this year, Religion News Service reported that the number of religious sisters in the U-S is estimated to be around 59-thousand. That’s down from a peak of 180-thousand in the mid-1960’s. What’s more, less than one percent of women religious are under the age of 40.

With these dismal numbers in mind, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor called together young women from all around the world who are in the early stages of their religious formation. Last week, they held a seminar in Brooklyn called “Sowing Seeds of Healing” to discuss their place in the world of service and ministry.