"You haven't had real fun until you've had it in a convent," says Sister Virginie Fish, an Oblate Sisters of Providence, who along with the other members of her community, was featured in the December issue of Ebony magazine.

Sister Fish says of religious life, "It is a life of excitement, adventure, dedication. It is certainly not boring." But it does have its challenges.

When Fish joined the convent in 1946, there were more than 300 Oblate Sisters serving throughout the U.S. and in six foreign missions. The Oblate Sisters of Providence, the oldest U.S. religious community of women of African descent, now number 100 sisters and serve in 25 U.S. cities and Costa Rica.

Their primary focus has remained education and service to the poor. For more information about the Oblate Sisters of Providence go to oblatesisters.org.