Sister Rita Marie Fritzen sees joining the Sisters of the St. Francis of the Neumann Communities as an opportunity to expand her ministry.

The Communities, at Mt. Alvernia in Millvale, are part of the Franciscan order of nuns. Fritzen, 55, of New Jersey, already belonged to one Franciscan order, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God in Whitehall.

But the Neumann Communities, which include the former Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale as a result of a merger in 2007, give her the chance to increase her religious service, Fritzen said.

"When they became established, I saw that there were such good opportunities," she said.

On Saturday, Fritzen and 10 other nuns from the Providence of God professed their perpetual vows to the Neumann Communities during a ceremony in Millvale. The Millvale location has been part of the Syracuse-based Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities for four years.

"We saw the common heart and the common vision," said Fritzen, 55, of why she and the others took vows with the Communities.

"I was nurtured and loved by the (Whitehall) community ... but felt that the opportunities were there (with the Neumann communities) to live out my Franciscan life," she said.

Franciscan nuns dedicate themselves to religious education and helping the poor and sick.

Transferring from one order to another took about two years while the nuns familiarized themselves with the different traditions of the Neumann Communities, which has 500 members.

Sister Lorraine Wesolowski, the Neumann congregation's director of communications, said the Neumann merger gave all sisters a greater opportunity to serve.

"The increase in numbers helps us strengthen what we do, our mission of service to others," Wesolowski said.

Fritzen, now associate director of elementary and high school education in the Archdiocese of Newark, first took her vows about 30 years ago.