The title of this book might perhaps he misleading. The sister-witnesses represented here did not suddenly materialize at the behest of Vatican II. They have been pursuing their studies and developing their insights into the role and mission of sisters for years; the fact that the results of their study and observation are now being published does not mark a change, a “conversion”, in their lives.
Yet this title is accurate, for something surely has changed. Primarily, of course, this has been a change of atmosphere, the result of the fresh spirit of renewal and rejuvenation that is part of the life of the Church at this moment in history. But there has also been a change in the sisters themselves- in their awareness of themselves, in the opportunities they see for themselves, in the increased clarity and articulateness of their expression of their mission, in the growing ease and naturalness of their relationships with others; superiors, fellow sisters, and the rest of the human family.