They carry signs and march along the roadside, but their resemblance to stereotypical protesters ends there.

These antiwar activists are middle-age and older Catholic nuns who can be seen every Monday on Babcock Boulevard in McCandless, holding signs that read "Honk for Peace," "Sisters for Peace" or "Peace not War."

On Monday, more than 100 members of Sisters of Divine Providence marched in front of their motherhouse, Providence Heights. Sisters who live there were joined by sisters who had come from around the world for a chapter meeting.

"We have sisters from St. Louis, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts and the Dominican Republic," said Sister Janet Schaffran, one of the organizers of the weekly peace vigils.

Since April 3, several sisters have held the vigils each Monday. The group was organized by Sister Janet and Sister Betty Sundry, director of social concerns for the order. La Roche College, affiliated with the order and adjacent to the property, had hosted a program titled Eyes Wide Open that focused on the war in Iraq.

"There were shoes there with a card in each pair. The cards listed the names of all of the local men and women who have been killed in this war. People put on their shoes and walked in them," Sister Janet said. "It was a wonderful program with music and poetry readings. We wanted to raise our consciousness about the war."

After the conference, the sisters wanted to continue the efforts to bring peace to the world.

"We thought this would be one way to do it," Sister Janet said of the vigils.

The vigils also follow the teachings of Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler, founder of the Sisters of Divine Providence.

"Bishop von Ketteler believed in a corporate commitment to uphold a consistent life ethic. We believe that all people deserve to live in peace," Sister Janet said.

She said she felt a personal call to lead the peace vigils.

"On my 60th birthday, I made a retreat and realized that I should do something that was a life expression and spiritual experience in my life," she said. "I heard someone say, 'If every one of us just does one thing, we can make a difference.' This is my one thing."

The group ranges from three to 15 or more.

"We begin with a prayer at 4:15 p.m. at the Peace Pole in front of our house. Then we walk to Babcock Boulevard, where we walk until about 5:15 or so," Sister Betty said.

Others join the sisters, including faculty and students from La Roche, those who work at nearby UPMC Passavant and members of peace activist groups, including Code Pink and North Hills Peace.

"We get a lot of honks" in response to the "Honk for Peace" sign, Sister Betty said.

One day, the sisters were a little late in getting out to Babcock and cars were already honking.

"There were some of our regulars," she said.

"Every once in a while, we will get the finger, and not the sign of peace finger," Sister Betty said. "And some people just look straight ahead and ignore us, but there are a lot of people who do support us."

"We will do it until there's peace," Sister Janet said. "I don't think we can stop until then."