Chaplain in the College of Nursing

I am a Sister of Saint Francis of Penance and Christian Charity.  It is an international community, and I am from Holy Name Province, one of three in the United States.

Born in Buffalo, New York, one of 5 children, I grew up in a very cultural and ethnic diverse environment along the shores of Lake Erie. It was in high school where I met my sisters and entered our community after graduation in 1967. Living my life as a Sister of Saint Francis has been a spiritual journey, a gift and a blessing.  Like Francis of Assisi who called himself, “pilgrim and stranger,” I find this to be a metaphor for my own life.  Ministry has brought me from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, to the bush area of Tanzania, East Africa.  Many years have been spent in ministry to higher education as a campus minister and now as Chaplain for the College of Nursing here at Creighton University.  Opportunities in leadership roles within my own community also provided incredible occasions to serve as a woman religious, and an ecclesial woman in the Catholic Church.  I am a trained spiritual director and enjoy leading people in prayer, rituals and retreats that help them to experience God, and grow in that deeper relationship God invites us to have. The integration of the arts and spirituality has always been of interest.  I have an MA degree in Religious Studies/Spirituality.  My undergraduate studies were completed with a Bachelor Fine Arts degree.  I continue to enjoy painting, drawing and other forms of artistic expression.  Planting flowers, cooking for friends, going to movies, listening to music, attending the theater, going to the zoo, being outside in the midst of creation, savoring a fine glass of wine and dish of spaghetti, and being with dear friends and family, are all heart and soul renewing experiences I like to do!  O taste and see the goodness of our God!

Being open to the Spirit, I believe writing these reflections will be a way to proclaim and share God’s goodness, beauty, love and faithfulness.  I have always enjoyed and felt honored in breaking open the Word when the opportunity was offered. It is a privilege and humbling sense to do so.  

e-mail: CandiceTucci@creighton.edu