Fwhat Hakes a WomanN
CHOOSE SUCH ft Ufj
The Benoits Susan fat window), Mr. and Mrs. Benoit (seated), Thomas (above them), Louise
(far right), and Sandra (foreground) took in all nine Craigs after their parents' death.
A Full House
She has nine more children than she had last Mother's Day
I AST YEAR, four children cele
1 brated Mother's Day at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Benoit in Norwalk, Conn.
This year there are 13.
The nine additional children are there
because of a tragic pre-Christmas auto
accident which took the lives of their
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Craig. The
orphans, who range in age from 18
months to 18 years, could have been
turn
farmed out to various families. But Mrs.
Benoit (who is Mrs. Craig's sister) talked
with her husband, and they decided to
take all the children into their home.
The additional work and responsibility
would have overwhelmed some women.
But not Mrs. Benoit. She cherishes her
own four youngsters but there is plenty
of love left over for the nine orphaned
Craig children. She says, "The children
are wonderful. They listen to me, they're
helpful, they mind. It's not so hard. I
just make more of everything."
Despite the additional chores, Mrs. Benoit (left) has
time to lull baby Mary to sleep. At right, some of the
kids decide Thomas has slept enough for one morning.
PHOTOGRAPHS IV ARTHUR LEIPZIG
You see her walking down the
I street, and you wonder about her.
She isn't fashionably dressed
like other women. She wears no
1 lipstick, no make-up, no high
heels or nylons. Instead of a
5 "perky" hat, her head is covered
1 by a hood and veil. Her dress is a
billowing, full-length habit that
I bears little resemblance to femin-
ine fashions.
And as she passes by, you realize "
g that here is a woman different
from others not only in dress...
but in her entire way of life. Here
is one who has deliberately turned
her back upon the worldly pleas-
1 ures which other women seek and
enjoy. And perhaps you wonder
why a woman should give up all
j this to become a Catholic nun.
aj
Is it because she is afraid to face
2 the world and its responsibilities?
I Is it because she lacks talents that
other women possess and there-
fore seeks shelter in the convent?
- Is she devoid of maternal instinct?
Or does she choose the life of a
nun because she thinks it is easier
and more secure than life in a
world of fluctuating economic
conditions?
No a nun who will knock at
your door asking for alms for the
poor surely is not afraid of the
a world. A Catholic sister competent
to teach in a school . . . and often
highly gifted in the arts and lan
jjj guages...is surely not lacking in
talents. Nor can anyone who has
seen a Catholic nun mothering the
I sick in a hospital believe that she
I is lacking in the maternal instinct.
a wu. i. . .. -i
wnar is it, men, mac prompts
a woman to tutn her back upon
SUPREME COUNCIL
KtllGHTS of COLUIHBUS
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION BUREAU
1411 LINDtll 81VD
3 "THtT
the pleasures and luxuries of the
world for a life of poverty, chastity
and obedience? How is it that
hundreds of thousands of women
do this . . . many of them coming
from well-to-do families which
could supply their every need and
wish? What is the spark that fires
their zeal for God, and for hu
manity? The answer is that the heart of
a nun is filled with the desire to
serve God. And that desire is the
product of her Catholic Faith. If
you doubt the power of Catholic
belief, remember this fact . . . the
Church is the only institution on
earth having large numbers of
such consecrated women who de
vote their lives to Christ.
Perhaps you would not or could
not become a nun, or a priest, or
a religious of the Catholic Church.
Perhaps you would not even want
to be a Catholic. But if you wish to
inform yourself concerning the
teachings and beliefs of the
Church which can inspire such
magnificent sacrifice and service,
write for Free Pamphlet FM-25.
It will be sent in a plain wrapper
and nobody will call on you.
FREE Mail Coupon Today
I SUPREME COUNCIL
I KNIGHTS OF COLUMRUS
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION BUREAU
j 4411 lind.ll Blvd., St. lauli S, Mlnouri
I Pla Mnd km FrM PomphUt MtHlcd
I "What Makts a Woman ChooM Such a
! III.?"
I FM-25
I
I
I CI!Y
ST. LOUIS . MISSOURI
Family Weekly, May 13, 1X2
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
for etiological studies