Chris Herlinger

Chris Herlinger

Chris Herlinger is New York and international correspondent to Global Sisters Report and also writes on humanitarian, international and cultural issues for NCR. He covers the work of Catholic sisters at the United Nations, and in the last decade has reported from Ukraine, Poland, Bosnia, Croatia, South Sudan, Haiti, Lebanon, Italy, Ghana, Uganda and El Salvador, among other locales. Chris has won numerous awards from the Associated Church Press, the Religion Communicators Council and the Religion News Association. The Catholic Media Association named Chris one of its 2024 Writers of the Year. He is the author of five books on humanitarian themes, most recently Solidarity and Mercy: The Power of Christian Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine, published by Morehouse. 

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Pope Francis burns incense in front of a Marian statue after consecrating the world, and in particular Ukraine and Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a Lenten penance service in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 25, 2022. A year later, he asked Catholics worldwide to renew the consecration and pray for peace. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Sisters, despite complicated feelings, say Francis 'never forgot Ukraine'

No one doubted the late pope's commitment to a peaceful solution in Ukraine. But even among Ukraine's small Catholic community, some felt that Francis was not robust enough in his condemnation of Russia.

Sr. Jane Wakahiu, a member of the Institute of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis, Kenya, and associate vice president for program operations and head of Catholic Sisters for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican in January. (Courtesy of Hilton Foundation)

Sisters hope new pope will continue Francis' prophetic pastoral path

 Sisters at the United Nations and in global ministries hope the new pope will honor Francis' legacy by sharing his priorities and concern for the marginalized.

The hands of Pope Francis, holding a rosary, are seen as he lies at rest in his coffin in the chapel of his residence

Remembering Francis: 'One of the most consequential leaders of our time'

Catholics around the world expressed their sadness and non-Catholics sent their condolences upon hearing the news of Pope Francis' death at age 88 on Easter Monday.

Pope Francis with nuns

Sisters mourn Pope Francis, who uplifted women in the church

Pope Francis, who elevated the status of women, and especially women religious, within the Catholic Church more than any pontiff in history, died early April 21. He was 88.

The Spanish Mission style buildings on the Victory Noll campus in Huntington, Indiana, have been sold to the county community corrections program for its drug court program aimed at getting drug addicts treatment instead of jail terms. (GSR/Dan Stockman)

Monday Starter: 4 communities join Land Justice Futures effort

Plus, cloistered Illinois sisters adopt solar energy; an Indian court denies bail for a nun facing arrest after she was accused of conversion; services held for slain Haitian sisters.

A group of more than a dozen faith-based activists — sisters of different congregations, lay associates, supporters — who participated in the April 5 "Hands Off!" demonstration in Washington D.C. were among those attending the nationwide rally. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)

At 'Hands Off!' rallies throughout US, sisters 'stand with the marginalized'

Sisters joined thousands across the U.S. in protesting President Donald Trump's administrative policies. Sisters' specific concerns included cuts to international aid programs and the erosion of democracy.

A protester holds up a sign that reads in French, "Security is a right, Haiti deserves it" during a protest against insecurity April 2 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Two women religious, Sr. Evanette Onesaire and Sr. Jeanne Siliane Voltaire, were killed March 31. (AP photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Two Catholic sisters killed in Haiti gang violence

Two members of the Little Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus were among those killed earlier this week by armed gang members in the central Haiti city of Mirebalais.

Sr. Roberta White, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubuque, Iowa, second from left, with other participants at the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women. She and others attended as members of a delegation representing the Loretto Community. The Loreto Community has been partnering with the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque since 2011. This year, Loreto hosted a delegation of 40 participants with 28 attendees hailing from four U.S. high scho

UN event spotlights the challenge of 'rollback' of women's rights

Sisters who attended the 69th session of the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women (March 10-21) spoke of progress and pushback since the 1995 Beijing Declaration.

Dozens spoke about gender-based violence during the 69th session of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women, held March 10-21 in New York. (GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo)

Catholic sisters at UN session speak out against 'crisis' of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence was the focus of many of this year's sessions at the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women, showing the extent to which the problem remains persistent, serious and endemic.

Students gather outside Don Bosco Ngozi High School in Burundi. (Courtesy of ANS Agenzia Info Salesiana)

Monday Starter: Salesians mark UN's World Water Day

 Salesian Missions joined other humanitarian groups on March 22 in marking World Water Day, a United Nations-led commemoration to bring attention to the need for safe, clean water.

Student leaders from Ireland and the United States gather at Gwynedd Mercy University for an annual four-day Mercy Girl Effect conference held each year in Philadelphia. (Courtesy of Deirdre Mullan)

A global Mercy movement reaches out to girls in need

The Mercy Girl Effect brings together students at all-girls Mercy-affiliated high schools "to share ideas and educate the young women in our midst about the plight of girls worldwide," says Sr. Deirdre Mullan.

Antonio M. Lagdameo, the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in 2024, pictured at the podium and upper part of screens addressing the opening of the 68th session of the CSW in March 2024.

Monday Starter: CSW meetings to focus on 30 years since Beijing Declaration

Plus, a new study from UNANIMA looks at how certain groups, such as women and children, experience homelessness.

Sr. Roxanne Schares

Q&A with Sr. Roxanne Schares, new associate executive secretary of UISG

As the new associate executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General, Sr. Roxane Schares brings a rich history of working with refugees to the global sisterhood.

Signs by Ukrainian Americans support Ukrainian independence during a celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day, Aug. 24, in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

After a week of heartbreak about Ukraine, truth still wins out

Following an extraordinary shift in U.S. policy towards Ukraine, Catholics are among those upholding the importance of truth in the face of propaganda and political maneuvering. 

The priest stands wearing white habit staring out of window.

As third anniversary of war looms, Ukrainian Catholics cling to hope

As the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion looms, civilians and combatants alike are tired of blood and muck, loss and terror. 

Workers at a camp in Terrain Toto, Haiti, construct transitional shelters provided by Catholic Relief Services for those left homeless in the 2010 earthquake. Catholic Relief Services was among the humanitarian entities deeply affected by USAID cuts. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

Slander aside, foreign aid wins goodwill for US — and saves lives

In the abrupt decision to cut off USAID to hurting countries and vital programs, the United States chose the market over morality as a primary value.

A woman holds a placard outside the U.S. Agency for International Development building in Washington as it sits closed to employees Feb. 3, 2025, after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely. (OSV News/Reuters/Kent Nishimura)

Sisters alarmed by Trump's gutting of US foreign aid

With President Donald Trump overseeing massive sudden cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, sisters and organizers express grave concern for the global health ramifications.

A woman runs to take cover from gunfire during clashes between police and gangs in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP/Odelyn Joseph)

'People can't live in Haiti safely': Sisters struggle to serve surrounded by gangs

Haiti's problems are seemingly almost never-ending. Advocates — like congregational representatives at the U.N. — say the beleaguered country needs more attention and more support from the global community.

Parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Meyer Grande, Haiti, wait outside their newly built church for services to begin. Parishioners built the structure, with support from members of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, Fla. (Courtesy of St. Margaret Mary Church)

For a Florida parish, Haitian self-determination is paramount

"We don't go in and build houses. We don't go in and dig ditches. We go in and talk to the Haitian people about what their needs are," said Adrian Dominican Sr. Rosemary Finnegan in a recent interview.

Women religious are pictured in a file photo entering a church in Abuja, Nigeria. (OSV News/Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

Monday Starter: Tracker adds Nigeria, Chad to countries where women face crises

Also, Catholic sisters and sister-led groups react to President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and pardon of Jan. 6 rioters.