The Sisters of Hannah is the mentorship ministry of The Fruitful Hollow, serving as prayerful support for those who carry the cross of infertility. The team of mentors is comprised of faithful Catholic women who have lived through a wide breadth of the infertility experience, whether primary, co-factor male and female, unexplained, secondary, miscarriage, or experience with foster care and adoption. The mentors are trained to prophetically listen and accompany mentees through their struggles and offer prayerful support on their journey. We do this through virtual meetings with two mentors per mentee, providing communal support, bearing forth gifts and insights from both mentors, while keeping the focus and attention on the individual mentee and how the Holy Spirit is speaking grace within their situation. Jesus said, “whenever two or more are gathered in my name, there I will be also”. We truly believe that the space for a mentee to share their experience is sacred ground. Although we have primarily accompanied women, we have mentored couples and we are open to husbands discerning participation as mentors as well, as we witness an increasing number of husbands expressing how deeply this cross impacts them as well.
With the expanding needs of the infertility community, our team is hoping to welcome and train new team members to join us on this most important mission. We tackle the critical areas that the cross of infertility impacts, such as:
relationship with God and faith life,
marital relationships,
isolation and finding a place within their community,
and identity.
We understand that infertility is a grief process that requires a sensitive and understanding approach to life transitions. We remain faithful to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.
While the Sisters of Hannah team’s entire focus is on the mentee, God has a way of impacting our mentors in a personal way. Some of our mentors have shared the following about their experience.
“Each time I meet with a mentee, my heart grows and God gives me more room to hold that individual in prayer and bring their needs to Him. I am renewed with a peace that I cannot explain, but I trust can only come from the Holy Spirit and God’s healing work in this ministry.” (Kristin D)
"Since I became a mentor, I have been blessed with meeting women who shared the same pain I did. It has allowed me to be their prayer ally and sister in Christ. Each mentee has been a blessing. Each mentee has shown me how powerful prayer and unity is. It has been a joy to meet all of them!" (Veteran team member)
“Being a mentor with the Sisters of Hannah has truly been a full circle moment for me! I was one of the first mentees almost four years ago and now I’ve been mentoring for almost a year! The biggest gift and learning curve I’ve received from being a mentor has been how much the mentees have to give! The women you help are all beautiful and walking on their own unique journey, and they cope with it in their own ways but we are all united under the same cross. As a mentee, I was overwhelmed with how much love and grace my mentors had with me: now I see how much the mentees can teach me being on the other end of it. Walking with them is one of the greatest joys of my life, and a path I know that will continue to bear beautiful fruit for everyone involved!” (C. J.)

“When I was starting my infertility journey, I felt so alone.This ministry has helped me see how the Lord can redeem my sufferings by offering them to Him, let Him work through them. Being a mentor allows me to share God's love with others by letting Him use me, my story and my experiences to provide community and, hopefully, convey His peace to our mentees. I am grateful to Him and blessed in turn by cooperating with this gift.” (Sarah F)
If you feel called to consider becoming a Sister of Hannah, we invite you to join us for our next virtual discernment retreat on Saturday, January 25th 2025 at 10am - 12 noon ET. The discernment retreat is followed by a discernment exercise, interview, and then an orientation around March. Please email Sistersofhannah@thefruitfulhollow.com for more information.