The participants at the Ancora Day held in Indianapolis on March 7.

March 25, 2010. Indianapolis, IN. This past March 7, a group of 30 young women, ages 11 to 18, gathered for an Ancora Day held at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s St Augustine Home in Indianapolis.

Ancora is an international club of Catholic girls who want to support the Holy Father and pray for vocations. The purpose of the day was to learn more about the Pope and interact with the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Regnum Christi consecrated women.

The day’s activities included Eucharistic adoration, the Rosary, and Mass together, as well as a jeopardy contest on information from Pope Benedict XVI’s life. There was also a vocation panel made up of Sr Marie Cecilia (Little Sister of the Poor), Saira Herboth (Regnum Christi consecrated woman), and Kelsey, a high school teen currently discerning her vocation. The panel gave the girls an opportunity to listen to vocation stories and ask questions about God’s call.

At the close of the Ancora Day, the girls presented Sr. Marie Cecilia with a framed image of Christ that is meant to inspire prayer for vocations.  The image, called Alter Christus, is the fruit of a project designed to support and aid

	The Ancora girls present Sr. Marie Cecilia with an Alter Christus image for the community.

vocations with prayer (www.alterchristusproject.org). 
Lisa Richart, one of the organizers of the event, said that at first she wondered how the day would pan out, but that she was pleased to see the girls’ energy and enthusiasm for spiritual activities.

“This day proved to me that Catholic teens, in addition to their desire for fun, treasure the need to pray for the Church and her leaders, especially the Holy Father,” she said.

“I was impressed by the joyful attitude and enthusiasm of the four Ancora high school leaders who planned the activities, created the presentations, and led the girls in the various spirited events,” she added.

Abby, who became an Ancora member after the activity, said that in addition to the activities, she was glad for the chance to meet other girls with the same values, “On top of all that, we had a chance to meet new girls from across the state of Indiana.  It’s always a good thing to make new friends who share the same love for Christ as I do.