Sister Megan Mary Thibodeau, SOLT ’95, says she discerned a call to religious life during her semester in Austria but resisted the Lord’s prompting. Instead, after graduation, she used her history and secondary education degree as a volunteer high school teacher in Belize for two years.
There, she became acquainted with religious sisters from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. It was in Belize, she says, “I knew I needed to say yes.” She professed first vows in 2000, perpetual vows in 2005, and in 2013, she was elected the sisters’ general superior.
Throughout her professed life, Sister Megan has served in all phases of initial formation at the order’s houses in Texas, North Dakota, Italy, and New Mexico. From her order’s headquarters in Corpus Christi, Texas, she oversees 115 sisters in seven countries, which allows her to “see the sisters in action and the good work they do,” she says.
This work includes providing catechesis in rural areas, offering parish ministry, running drug rehabilitation centers in Thailand, and operating a home for neglected and abused youth and elderly in Mexico. She also serves on the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious as the assistant chairperson.
Recently, Sister Megan submitted documentation to Rome for the SOLT sisters to be recognized as a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right. As part of the process, she addressed the financial needs of the community, updated the constitutions, and formally established a long-range plan to include the construction of a motherhouse for elderly sisters. Just one year into the fundraising campaign, the sisters have raised half of their goal, and construction began in late 2022 on the 20,000-square foot building that will house 20 sisters and administrative offices.
Sister Megan says Franciscan University provided a strong foundation for her work in the Church.
“I gained a profound experience of faith in the liturgy and attended daily Mass all four years. That had a big impact on how I learned to effectively live out my faith,” she says, adding that serving on the prayer team for the Festivals of Praise and as a household coordinator strengthened her faith as well.
