The schools are full. Hospitals are expanding. Social ministries continue to multiply across the world. Yet amid the visible success of many apostolic works, a profound question confronts the Church today: Can religious institutes remain faithful to their apostolic mission if their works gradually become disconnected from the spiritual life that gave them birth?
This question lies at the heart of the doctoral research of Sr. Callen Kerubo Nyangena, LSOSF, a Kenyan member of the Little Sisters of St. Francis (LSOSF), who successfully defended her dissertation in Canon Law on June 23, 2026, at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome.
Her dissertation, “Observance of Apostolic Mission in the Institute of the Little Sisters of St. Francis,” offers far more than an academic analysis of one religious congregation. It is a timely reflection on the identity and future of institutes dedicated to apostolic works throughout the Church.
As Religious communities navigate a world shaped by globalisation, secularisation, technological advancement, and rapidly changing cultures, Sr. Nyangena argues that the greatest challenge is not simply adapting to change but ensuring that apostolic activity remains rooted in intimate communion with God and faithful to the founding charism of each institute.
“Apostolic action should always proceed from an intimate union with God and, in turn, strengthen that union,” she explains, echoing the wisdom of Canon 675 of the Code of Canon Law.
Her research observes that apostolate is increasingly vulnerable to subtle distortions. Ministries may flourish organisationally while gradually losing the spiritual dynamism that originally inspired them. In such situations, apostolic works risk becoming professional enterprises rather than authentic expressions of consecrated life.
Drawing on canonical, theological and ecclesial sources, the study challenges the assumption that every charitable or pastoral activity automatically constitutes an apostolate in the full ecclesial sense.
Quoting the Canonist Sugawara, Sr. Nyangena highlights a crucial distinction: “Religious activity becomes true apostolate when it flows from the institute’s founding charism and is exercised in communion with the mission entrusted by the Church.”
This concern resonates strongly with Pope Francis’ repeated invitation to institutes of consecrated life to examine whether their ministries genuinely reflect their founding inspiration and continue to respond to the needs of today’s world. Rather than criticising religious institutes, the dissertation offers a path of renewal.
Among its recommendations are a renewed commitment to communal discernment, greater fidelity to the institute’s own charism, stronger community life, renewed appreciation of the corporate nature of apostolic works, attentiveness to the needs of both the universal and local Church, and courageous responses to emerging forms of poverty and human suffering.
For Sr. Nyangena, the apostolate is not primarily about what religious accomplish but about the witness they offer. “The first apostolate of every religious is the witness of a life totally consecrated to God,” she says, recalling Canon 673, which identifies consecrated life itself as the Church’s primary apostolic witness.
Behind the academic achievement lies an inspiring vocational journey. Sr. Callen Kerubo Nyangena grew up in Kenya and attended St. Theresa’s Nyangusu Girls’ Boarding School, a Catholic institution administered by the Little Sisters of St. Francis.
It was not classroom lessons alone that attracted her to religious life. “The joyful community life of the sisters, their generosity, their prayer, and their commitment inspired me to join them,” she recalls. Although she qualified for university studies after secondary school, she chose instead to enter religious life. “I never imagined that the same congregation I joined would one day educate me all the way to a doctorate.” That journey eventually led her to Rome, where she pursued advanced studies in theology before obtaining both a master’s degree and a doctorate in Canon Law.
Ironically, Canon Law had never been her personal ambition. “My dream was to become a medical doctor,” she says with a smile. “But obedience led me to Canon Law because that was where my institute needed me.” Looking back, she sees that decision as one of grace rather than sacrifice. “Obedience often allows God to write a more beautiful story than the one we would have written for ourselves.”
Completing doctoral studies abroad brought its own challenges. Among the greatest was the limited availability of English-language canonical resources in the libraries she consulted.
Language also became a significant obstacle. Beginning doctoral research before mastering Italian meant spending long hours translating academic materials before she could analyse them. Those difficulties, however, became part of the formation that shaped both the researcher and the research itself.
Sr. Nyangena believes her study arrives at an important moment in the life of the Church. As consecrated life continues to face declining numbers in some parts of the world and growing pastoral demands in others, she argues that religious institutes must continually return to the essential question: not merely what they do, but why they do it.
Her research therefore calls for continued scholarly reflection on apostolic mission, taking into account historical experience, canonical tradition, communal life, institutional realities and the rapidly changing socio-cultural context.
She hopes to publish the study in the coming months so that it may serve religious institutes, bishops, canon lawyers, formators, theologians and all who are committed to the renewal of consecrated life.
Reflecting on her own journey, Sr. Nyangena offers a message to young people discerning their vocation. “Do not be afraid to allow God to lead your future. His plans are always greater than our own.” She also encourages young religious to remember that every vocation begins with a daily “yes” to God, just as Mary’s acceptance became the beginning of God’s saving work in history.
“The vocation of every religious consists first in following Christ and bearing witness to total consecration to God,” she says. “Every degree, profession, ministry or skill exists to strengthen that witness and to advance the mission of the Church and the salvation of souls.” For her, this conviction has become the guiding principle of both her religious life and her academic work. “In the end,” she reflects, “what matters most is not the profession we have or the position we hold, but whether our lives have truly borne witness to Christ.”
As the Church continues to discern its mission in an increasingly complex world, Sr. Callen Kerubo Nyangena’s research offers a timely reminder that the future of apostolic life will depend not only on the works religious undertake, but on the depth of their communion with the One who first called them.
By Sr. Patricia Akoto, FST
(Catholic Sister Communicators Network, Ghana-CASCON-GH)