Global Sisters Report | A project of National Catholic Reporter

Mar 4, 2021

Surge in deaths has sisters, church leaders urging Tanzania government to take COVID-19 seriously

Updated

by Doreen Ajiambo

2021 Catholic Sisters Week includes food challenge along with virtual events

Catholic nun's kneeling protest in Myanmar praised as 'model for church leaders'

by Claire Giangrave, Religion News Service

Columns

Digging into the roots of my racialized childhood

by Susan Rose Francois

Mar 5, 2021

Horizons: I honor my parents' work to confront structural racism. I also must acknowledge that I grew up in an all-white neighborhood because of structural racism that directly benefitted my family.

A chocoholic's Lent

by Julie A. Ferraro

Mar 4, 2021

In more recent decades, Lent's focus has shifted from giving up bad habits to doing good works, stepping outside one's comfort zone to do good deeds, or praying more. Still, the chocolate hangs over my head.

Yearning eyes: the plight of the migrants in India

by Lavina D'Souza

Mar 3, 2021

I caught the look of a migrant who was stranded in a Mumbai slum due to the lockdown. His eyes seemed to express resignation, perhaps to his plight as well as the complacency of the society around him.

How the pandemic changed monastery life for the Chicago Benedictines

by Belinda Monahan

Mar 2, 2021

More than eight months have passed since our first community member tested positive for the novel coronavirus. All of us are changed by our experience. I have grown in appreciation of my dependence on God and in gratitude for the people who support me in my daily life.

The Way of the Cross: the way of kindness

by Lou Ella Hickman

Mar 1, 2021

The Stations or the Way of the Cross began its historical journey as a devotion during the 400s. I hope my reflections on several of the Stations could be another way we religious sisters and nuns can encourage people during this time of great burdens.

A Midwestern sister retreats to the desert

by Gabrielle Bibeau

Feb 26, 2021

Horizons – Once, preparing for my canonical novitiate year, I did a weeklong retreat in South Texas in August. I received so many blessings. Each Lent since, I visit this "desert" in my imagination when I pray.

News

After two devastating hurricanes, Honduran sisters help communities rebuild

Mar 4, 2021

Months after Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras, communities are still marked by devastation. Catholic sisters, despite their own destroyed properties and COVID-19, stand beside those struggling to rebuild their lives.

A volunteer from Forgotten Harvest food bank in Warren, Michigan, sorts jars of peanut butter during a mobile food pantry distribution Dec. 21, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Emily Elconin)

2021 Catholic Sisters Week includes food challenge along with virtual events

Mar 4, 2021

Members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious have been challenged to address food insecurity, especially in activities integrated into the eighth annual Catholic Sisters Week, which runs March 8-14.

Catholic nun's kneeling protest in Myanmar praised as 'model for church leaders'

by Claire Giangrave, Religion News Service

Mar 3, 2021

Education is key to empowering women, says Ghanaian nun-doctor

by Damian Avevor, Catholic News Service

Mar 2, 2021

Iraqi sisters hope pope's visit shows the world their country's suffering

by Eugenio Grosso

Mar 2, 2021

Religious order withdraws request to transfer founder's remains to U.S.

by Simon Caldwell, Catholic News Service

Feb 26, 2021

Coronavirus

Workers prepare protective face shields from recycled plastics at the Zaidi Recyclers workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 21, 2020. (CNS/Reuters)

Surge in deaths has sisters, church leaders urging Tanzania government to take COVID-19 seriously

Updated

by Doreen Ajiambo

Mar 4, 2021

Tanzania's government stopped publishing COVID-19 data almost a year ago, and the president has stated that vaccinations are dangerous. The recent deaths of the 60 nuns and dozens of priests in the span of about two months has left religious sisters stressed about their safety.

After two devastating hurricanes, Honduran sisters help communities rebuild

Mar 4, 2021

A Lenten commitment to spirituality after almost a year of lockdown

by Celina Kim Chapman

Mar 3, 2021

How the pandemic changed monastery life for the Chicago Benedictines

by Belinda Monahan

Mar 2, 2021

Coronavirus brother has brought its lessons for humanity

by Sujitha Sudarvizhi Jeyapul

Feb 25, 2021

May the communion of saints bring us comfort!

by Martha A. Kirk

Feb 24, 2021

Ministry

After two devastating hurricanes, Honduran sisters help communities rebuild

Mar 4, 2021

Dominican Sr. Liz Engel, center, met Liddy Olano, left, at St. Dominic's Home, an orphanage in Blauvelt, New York, Engel's former ministry. Olano met her husband, Joseph, right, at an event for the home's alumni. (Courtesy of Liz Engel)

Q & A with Sr. Liz Engel, placing children in adoptive families rather than foster care

Mar 2, 2021

Dominican Sr. Liz Engel has long been concerned about the need to place children in adoptive families rather than foster care, but the ongoing pandemic has heightened the stakes.

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

Sisters serve amid COVID-19, other hardships

by Tessy Jacob

Feb 18, 2021

Sisters versus homelessness: a look back on a year of focus

by Chris Herlinger

Feb 15, 2021

'Who you become is more important'

by Judith Best

Feb 11, 2021

Religious Life

2021 Catholic Sisters Week includes food challenge along with virtual events

Mar 4, 2021

Benedictine Sisters pray Vespers together at St. Scholastica Monastery in Chicago, Illinois, on New Year's Eve, 2020. (Belinda Monahan)

How the pandemic changed monastery life for the Chicago Benedictines

by Belinda Monahan

Mar 2, 2021

Jesus asks nothing less than to give our whole selves — our best selves

by The Life Panelists

Mar 1, 2021

Leadership groups condemn abuse by nuns but leave solutions to local congregations

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

Feb 25, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

Survivors of sex abuse by nuns suffer decades of delayed healing

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

Feb 22, 2021

Community News

Register Today: VIRTUAL 2021 Human Trafficking Conference

Event date: March 8th & 9th, 2021 Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd

More than 2,000 Hearts Delivered to Amityville Dominican Motherhouse

Published Mar 1, 2021 Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville

U.S. Prison System Through Eyes of Christian Mercy and Ethics.

Published Feb 26, 2021

Support Tolentine Zeiser Pre-K Students

Event date: 03/01/2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt

Q&As

Q & A with Sr. Liz Engel, placing children in adoptive families rather than foster care

Mar 2, 2021

Dominican Sr. Liz Engel has long been concerned about the need to place children in adoptive families rather than foster care, but the ongoing pandemic has heightened the stakes.

"I never thought of any other congregation but the Columbans," Sr. Mary Greaney, 87, says of her more than three decades as a missionary in Hong Kong and her more recent outreach to the Chinese diaspora in Ireland. (Courtesy of Sr. Mary Greaney)

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

Greaney arrived in Hong Kong in 1971 and spent the next 37 years there as a missionary and nurse. After retiring to Ireland, her mission is now to a flourishing parish community for the Chinese diaspora in Dublin.

Q & A with Sr. Mary Lou Specha, who turned her home into a Mardi Gras float

Feb 16, 2021

Q & A with Matthieu Brejon de Lavergnée, author of a history of the Daughters of Charity

by Elisabeth Auvillain

Feb 9, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Preetha Varghese, providing food and clothes to those who need it in New Delhi

by Jessy Joseph

Feb 2, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Nyzelle Dondé, leading a ministry to migrants in Honduras

Jan 26, 2021

Spirituality

Cadbury's Mini Eggs, which Julie A. Ferraro resolves to steer clear of during Lent. (Flickr/William Warby, CC by 2.0)

A chocoholic's Lent

by Julie A. Ferraro

Mar 4, 2021

This Lent reflection book was given to my Good Shepherd Volunteer community members and me from a Good Shepherd sister. Reading the Bible is one part of my spirituality goals for my service year. (Provided photo)

A Lenten commitment to spirituality after almost a year of lockdown

by Celina Kim Chapman

Mar 3, 2021

Notes from the Field - Growing up, I loved Lent — it meant spring was coming. But we are coming to first anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown, and I have been unsure of what to do with Lent this year.

The Way of the Cross: the way of kindness

by Lou Ella Hickman

Mar 1, 2021

Jesus asks nothing less than to give our whole selves — our best selves

by The Life Panelists

Mar 1, 2021

A Midwestern sister retreats to the desert

by Gabrielle Bibeau

Feb 26, 2021

May the communion of saints bring us comfort!

by Martha A. Kirk

Feb 24, 2021

Environment

Protesters walk near a construction site of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline Nov. 18, 2017, in Holtwood, Pennsylvania. (CNS/Stephanie Keith, Reuters)

Adorers sisters seek damages in latest lawsuit over gas pipeline

by Brian Roewe

Feb 25, 2021

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ, who tried to stop a natural gas pipeline from crossing their land by building a chapel, are now seeking damages in court from the energy company that constructed it.

The tree survives because it has adapted to the intruder — the cables. (Sue Paweski)

What the truth of a tree taught me during this pandemic

by Sue Paweski

Feb 16, 2021

There is no thought of life returning to pre-pandemic times in a year or so. An awareness of the fragility of life is making an indelible mark on our souls. I wonder how our lives will continue to be changed.

Day 1's executive actions signal Biden climate position

by Brian Roewe

Jan 21, 2021

Nature in our lives, in the cathedral, in the house of human rights

by Maria Magdalena Bennasar

Jan 7, 2021

Pacific Climate Warriors win Pax Christi peace prize

Forest therapy reawakens human connection to the natural world

Social Justice

Three houses that were part of the first group of homes completed in the development at Belair at Bowie, in Bowie, Maryland. Susan Rose Francois' parents were among the first couples that bought houses built by Levitt and Sons in Bowie in 1961. (James W.

Digging into the roots of my racialized childhood

by Susan Rose Francois

Mar 5, 2021

2021 Catholic Sisters Week includes food challenge along with virtual events

Mar 4, 2021

Catholic nun's kneeling protest in Myanmar praised as 'model for church leaders'

by Claire Giangrave, Religion News Service

Mar 3, 2021

Yearning eyes: the plight of the migrants in India

by Lavina D'Souza

Mar 3, 2021

Education is key to empowering women, says Ghanaian nun-doctor

by Damian Avevor, Catholic News Service

Mar 2, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Liz Engel, placing children in adoptive families rather than foster care

Mar 2, 2021

Arts and Media

Missionary of Jesus Sr. Norma Pimentel with "Oh Mercy" director Robert Bilheimer, taken before the pandemic (Courtesy of Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas)

Sr. Norma Pimentel at center of new documentary on migration

Feb 23, 2021

GSR Today - With Sr. Norma Pimentel as the film's "heroine," the audience can see the realities on the border in a "highly compassionate, not preachy way," says Robert Bilheimer, director of the 10-minute documentary.

Simply Spirit

'Scholomance' fantasy novel touches on power of evil — and of grace

by Christine Schenk

Feb 20, 2021

Simply Spirit: A Deadly Education, the intriguing first book in Naomi Novik's new series, led me to think in new ways about how we are called to use our own graced "superpowers" to overcome evil and promote good.

Sisters' residence in New Orleans gets Mardi Gras treatment

by Christine Bordelon, Catholic News Service

Feb 18, 2021

The struggle to find #justLOVE in times of hate

by Celina Kim Chapman

Feb 17, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Mary Lou Specha, who turned her home into a Mardi Gras float

Feb 16, 2021

'Rebel Hearts,' joyful revolutionaries: inquiry and experimentation is alive in religious life

by Katie Gordon

Feb 15, 2021

Migration

Yearning eyes: the plight of the migrants in India

by Lavina D'Souza

Mar 3, 2021

Sr. Norma Pimentel at center of new documentary on migration