What Is An Associate Companion?

BY BAY BALTES

The Ursuline Associate Community has continued a pattern of gradual growth over the past five years. We currently have a total of more than 200 members in North America and Peru, South America. Each of our members had a companion who walked with them during the formation process and was there when the initial covenant was signed.

In the beginning years, companions were generally Sisters, but as the number of Ursuline Sisters has grown smaller, many more Associates are becoming companions to candidates. The relationship between the candidate and companion extends beyond the formation process.

Audrey Truax and her relationship with Eula Couto is a case in point. Eula came to the U.S. on a visa from India. She joined Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Louisville and met Audrey. Audrey was her companion throughout the formation process to become an Ursuline Associate.

Audrey describes Eula as a very outgoing person who made many friends in the parish. She lived in Louisville for a number of years but eventually made the decision to return to India to be with her family. Even though separated by a great distance, she and Audrey have remained in touch with each other. Audrey feels that she learned a great deal from a person who came from a very different culture than her own. Eula, she says, became like a member of her own family.

Theresa Butler has been a companion to several current Associates—Emily Mosby, Dottie Lockhart, and Regina Leitner—and feels that the role of companions has evolved over the years because the number of Sisters has decreased. She describes the companion process as one of guiding the candidates through formation and then maintaining an on-going relationship with them once they are full-fledged members of the Associate Community.

The main role, Theresa believes, that a companion should fill is to help candidates become familiar with the charism of St. Angela. Another function for the companion is to help candidates become familiar with other members of the Associate Community and to encourage them to attend Associate gatherings.

I have also had the privilege of serving as a companion to two Associates—Peggy Cummins and Rory Polio. Peggy is a lifelong friend whom I invited to join the Associate Community, and when Rory decided to become an Associate, I volunteered to be her companion.

I found the process of companioning both women to be very fulfilling. It has deepened the friendship I already had with Peggy and has led me to a new friendship with Rory, who recently volunteered to serve on the Associate Advisory Board.

As we look to the future, the companion piece of the formation process will become even more important as the Associate Community carries on the Angeline charism: “a contemplative love of God, leading to an openness and eagerness to serve the needs of others.” Being a companion to new Associates is an important part of being active in the Associate Community, as it is a wonderful way to engage new members both spiritually and socially.