Meet the ‘Media Nuns’: Sisters Based at Alexandria Bookstore Use Technology to Serve the Community
ALEXANDRIA, VA-Standing at the corner of King and N. Henry Streets since 1982, Pauline Books & Media (1205 King St.) is much more than a quaint local bookstore in Old Town. it serves as the base of operations for the Alexandria wing of the Daughters of St. Paul, a longstanding international order of religious sisters dedicated to serving others by harnessing media, technology, and the internet to carry out their ministry.
This modern approach to the sisters’ ministry has earned them the famous title of the “media nuns,” allowing them to efficiently operate within the contemporary landscape of communications and technology as a means to glorify God and give back to the community.
One of the sisters-in-residence, Sr. Julia Mary Darrenkamp, has seen first hand how the Daughters of St. Paul’s online activity is filling a pressing community demand for Catholic and pop-culture crossover content on social media.
“What I usually post [on social media] is the saint of the day, convent life, and art that I like. I love to feature Catholic artists, and I wanted a place to put it, and it turns out so many other people like it too,” Darrenkamp said.
She has been received countless requests in direct messages, asking her to post more of this content, other lesser-known Catholic fun-facts, and what life is like behind-the-scenes as a nun.
The sisters were able to garner several thousand views, clicks, and interactions through harnessing commonly searched hashtags and trends that you can find on social media platforms such Instagram
“We’ve really developed a community from this and it’s pretty consistent. Being a nun for over 50 years at this point, a lot of this we take for granted, because a lot of it has become part and parcel in our life,” Darrenkamp said. “But for other people it’s like ‘I never knew that, that is so cool!’ … It is another way of talking to people.”
That is a simple way of explaining how this type of online ministry fulfills the public’s keen interest for novel information about faith. It also serves as a community forum.
Six sisters-in-residence, including Darrenkamp, live and work onsite at Pauline Books & Media. They each bring a unique approach, distinct personal charisma, and professional expertise to media ministry.
“I love sharing what I love,” Darrenkamp said.
In addition to their prolific online presence, The Daughters of St. Paul also accompany people in-person on their individualized journey of spiritual growth and development by hosting events. These are open, free, and accessible to the Alexandria community and surrounding area.
One of the events was a recent coffee chat and discussion at the bookstore on fasting from hyper-consumption of media. It was hosted by a prominently recognized nun, Sister Nancy Usselmann, who directs the Los Angeles wing of the Daughters of Saint Paul. She is an author and public speaker. The store welcomed anyone passing by to discuss how society determine ways to judiciously and ethically utilize media for the good of others.
“Technology is such a gift, it is God working through human ingenuity,” stated Ussellmann shared.
Support, follow, and engage with the Daughters of St. Paul online by exploring the following: Daughters of St. Paul & Pauline Books & Media in Alexandria (@medianunskingstreet), Sister Julia (@srjulia), and Sister Nancy Usselmann (@srnancy)
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