19 saint francis magazine | fall 2023 During Sr. Maria Gemma Salyer’s freshman year at Ohio Dominican University, a theology professor posed a question that became embedded in her mind. “Have you ever thought about religious life?” the professor asked the group of students. “You are all young women who love your faith. It should be something you think about.” Sr. Maria Gemma remembers her first reaction at hearing the question. “No one had ever said that, ever, to me. No, thank you,” she recalls thinking. Still, the question lingered. Born in California and raised in Newark, Ohio, Sr. Maria Gemma grew up Catholic. She drifted from the faith during her first two years at Ohio Dominican, she said. Then, during Christmas break of her junior year, she felt God speaking to her. “He asked me two questions: ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Who do you want to be?’ I didn’t know who I was, but I knew I wasn’t who I wanted to be. That was the shift in my life. I went to confession for the first time in a long time and after I left there, the memory of my theology professor came back to me,” she said. “I had spent a couple of years trying to find happiness for myself and failed miserably. God knows why he created me—let me try that.” From there, Sr. Maria Gemma began to pursue her purpose. Feeling called to religious life, she explored various religious orders. After conversations with a friend pursuing the priesthood, she realized how much she wanted to emulate St. Francis, who was radically transformed by Jesus and the Gospel, and inspired many to follow Jesus. During the fall of her senior year, she visited the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration— the University of Saint Francis sponsor—in Mishawaka, Indiana. “I drove onto the grounds and felt his peace come over me,” she said. “This is my home.” She became a postulant the following fall after graduating from Ohio Dominican. While Sr. Maria Gemma pursued her perpetual vows, she taught theology at Central Catholic High School in Lafayette, Indiana, and helped with campus ministry. After that, the Sisters assigned her to the motherhouse in Mishawaka to live and work with the Sisters in formation. She then earned a master’s degree in philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio) before an assignment to the University of Saint Francis. She earned a doctorate from Indiana State University this summer. Sr. Maria Gemma’s new role as vice president for Catholic culture and student life allows her to help Saint Francis deepen its Catholic identity while pointing students of all faiths to Jesus. “Our students are why we are here,” she said. “The Catholic identity and culture of the institution is central to how we engage with students. They come here for a degree, but it’s not just a transaction. If they leave this place and haven’t heard of Jesus, that’s our fault. They come for transformation, whether they know it or not.” During her time on campus, Sr. Maria Gemma says she has felt a natural unity between Christians of all denominations, whether students, faculty or staff. The common ground is a faith centered on Jesus. “Our students are interested in Christian unity,” she said. “When we focus on Jesus, we have a lot more in common than when we focus on something else.” Sr. Maria Gemma says she remains inspired by St. Francis and his example of giving and serving to point people to Jesus. Everything St. Francis did was predicated on “gazing at Jesus,” she said. “Being Catholic and being who we are in our Catholic identity allows us to embrace others,” she said. “If we don’t know who we are, we can’t embrace others in who they are. In modern culture, those who follow Jesus are closer than ever before. We have so many Christian brothers and sisters who work here in unity. We’re united and it looks so different from the world’s culture. It’s 100% an exciting time to be at Saint Francis and make our institution a light to the world.” Photography by Tim Brumbeloe VICE PRESIDENT FOR CATHOLIC CULTURE AND STUDENT LIFE SR. MARIA GEMMA SALYER, OSF, TRIES TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. SHE SEEKS TO HELP OTHERS SEE JESUS THE WAY ST. FRANCIS SAW HIM. 19 saint francis magazine | fall 2023
