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On July 27, 2024, Sr. Allison Lorraine Masserano, ASCJ, professed Perpetual Vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Photo by Aaron Joseph for the Archdiocese of Hartford).

By Vanessa Pereira

(This story was originally published in the Fall 2024 edition of “Caritas” magazine.)

Sr. Allison Lorraine Masserano cannot remember a time in her life when she didn’t know the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She grew up with the Sisters, having them as teachers, administrators and later, as friends. Those close to her had even come to refer to the Apostles as “Allison’s Nuns.” The Sisters were like family. It’s no surprise, then, that she went on to become an Apostle herself, right? Not quite.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Sr. Allison grew up across the street—literally— from Santa Maria School, where the Apostles lived and ministered for more than 70 years. She and her brothers Jonathan and Ryan attended Santa Maria from Pre-K through 8th grade, and their mom Kathy worked as a teacher’s aide at the school for more than 20 years. The Sisters were a beloved presence in the Masseranos’ lives.

“The Apostles have been a part of my entire life story. I remember being in kindergarten and Sr. Anne D’Alessio, our principal at the time, would give me extra work to do for fun because she knew I liked school,” she says. “The work was in a blue folder. When I turned it back in, I’d get a sticker! That’s just one of my earliest memories of the Sisters.”

Despite her connection to the Apostles, Sr. Allison admits that “religious Sister” was never on the list of what she wanted to be when she grew up; not consciously, at least. Her strong foundation of faith, however—nurtured by her family, her parish and the Sisters at Santa Maria —provided the fruitful ground on which the seed was planted.

Although she didn’t realize it at the time, Sr. Allison says she had an openness to God’s will in middle school. During an 8th grade class retreat, students were led through a guided meditation on encountering Jesus and giving him a gift.

“In my meditation, I stepped toward him and said ‘I’m giving you myself...that’s all I have!'" she says. “In hindsight, I can say that was the start of my journey.”

Her discernment journey took flight her freshman year at Georgetown University. After meeting young women her age who were thinking about becoming Sisters, Sr. Allison saw religious life as a tangible option. That summer, she attended a discernment retreat with the Apostles but determined God was calling her to finish school. 

After graduating with a theology degree, Sr. Allison returned to the Bronx and started working as a teacher’s aide at Santa Maria School. She was reunited with the Apostles, now working alongside them. She started attending daily Mass and devoting more time to prayer, which brought religious life back to the forefront. She was also heavily involved with the Focolare Movement, an international lay movement dedicated to promoting unity. 

Sr. Allison was at a crossroads. She felt certain God was calling her to something, but she wasn't sure what. Was she called to be an Apostle, a faithful layperson in the Focolare, or something else? In her heart she knew if she was called to religious life, it would be as an Apostle. She almost convinced herself, however, that she wasn’t called to be an Apostle because it was “too obvious.”

“We do that with ourselves,” she laughs. “We think God’s will is super complicated and something we need to decode and decipher, but sometimes He's simply inviting us on an adventure with Him!”

Ultimately, Sr. Allison attended another discernment retreat with the Apostles and the rest is history. When she entered the Congregation in 2014, she says she experienced an overwhelming sense of peace. That feeling grew into a sense of belonging, and later, a deepened desire to be “all in.”

“I have always felt at home with the Apostles,” she says. “In the days after my perpetual profession, there was a deeper sense of at homeness and rootedness. I know that I will be able to feel at home as an Apostle wherever God takes me, and that I will be able to do it with the support of my community."