The tale of a medieval woman’s decision to join the convent, Marj Charlier’s historical novel, 'The Rebel Nun,' resonates with many of the issues faced by the church in modern times.

Mercy Sister Janet Mead, who earned gold records for her 1974 hit version of the Our Father, died Jan. 26 in her native Adelaide, Australia. She was 84 and had been battling cancer.

Pope Francis encouraged religious sisters and consecrated women to continue to show courage amid difficulties, even if it means pushing back against the church they serve faithfully.

“My hope for L.G.B.T. Catholics is that they all feel welcome and comfortable in any parish in the world,” Sister Gramick says. “That they might feel just as much a part of the church as anyone else.”

In a handwritten letter, Pope Francis congratulated Sister Gramick on “50 years of closeness, of compassion and of tenderness” in a ministry that he described as being in “the style of God.”

I never imagined my vocation as a Dominican sister would entail being arrested by the Secret Service and spending a night in the Washington, D.C., Central jail.