“I always pray the rosary in my tree stand. It’s a tradition.”

That’s how Sister John Paul Bauer, 60, prepares for a hunt.

The Benedictine nun from St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania recently made the news when she posted a picture of herself and a recent kill, a 10-point, 200 pound buck.

(Archdiocese of St. Marys)

A native of St. Marys, Sister John Paul grew up watching her father and brothers hunt.

“It’s a conservation effort,” she told a reporter from St. Mary's acrhdiocesan website. “If you don’t kill the deer, they will starve. You have to maintain the population that can be fed naturally off the land. If you get an overabundance, then the deer starve. Likewise, if you overkill, then that’s not good either. So there’s a balance. You don’t just hunt for the sake of killing. You are part of nature. You’re part of a cycle. You’re part of creation."

Sister Bauer had her buck butchered for sausage and steaks, and is sharing it with a couple of local families. She also teaches theology at Elk County Catholic High School.

Here's how Mary Solberg of Eriercd.org described Sister Bauer's kill: