Dan Stockman

As congregations in the United States see their numbers declining, many are realizing the need to preserve their history.

"When a sister is in the dialogue, they listen differently," said Sr. Susan Francois,

If the U.S. Congress approves the proposed drastic cuts on Medicaid, critics say nearly 11 million people will lose their health insurance. More than 13,000 of those people could be men and women religious.

What Srs. Berta Sailer and Corita Bussanmas began as a day care 50 years ago has morphed into Operation Breakthrough, a nonprofit educating underprivileged kids of Kansas City, even after the sisters' deaths.

Hope 2025, a gathering organized by the Leadership Collaborative for Catholic sisters under the age of 65, was part retreat, part networking event and part space for connection.

When Pope Francis ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert "the death penalty is inadmissible," it gave the church "official teachings so we couldn't have bishops going against it," said St. Joseph Sr. Helen Prejean.

As congregations across the United States look to liquidate unused facilities or find a new way to put them to use, intercongregational living is happening more and more often.

Pope Francis made migration a priority, leaving a challenge "not to see this as an invitation we received during a particular papacy, but the depth of an inner call. Not to see it as temporal, but as universal."

Plus, the Pentecost Project at the Vatican offers journalism training courses to sisters, and the Religious Formation Conference honors Sr. Ellen Dauwer.

Associated Church Press also honored a National Catholic Reporter staff writer. Plus, the Religion Communicators Council awards a Global Sisters Report correspondent with best in class reporting.

"We are deeply grateful for his humble acceptance of his election and his willingness to serve the church and the wider world at this critical moment," wrote the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Pope Francis invited all Catholics to the table in deliberating the future of the church. Sisters involved in those synods believe there's no turning back — even with a new pope.

Plus, UISG plenary assembly opens May 5, and U.S. sisters take to open letters and billboards to encourage compassion and humanity in government policies.

Catholic sisters and organizations mourn his loss and hail his legacy, particularly his attention to the marginalized.

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.

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.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet hosted a day of events at St. Joseph's Academy, marking the marches' 60th anniversary, celebrating the St. Joseph sisters who took part, and unveiling archival items that are now preserved there.

CWR's Region 7, which includes congregations in Indiana and Michigan, hosts its first regional assembly, focusing on hope in religious life.

Plus, the National Religious Vocation Conference offers intercultural workshops; Network to host Stations of the Cross for Justice; and Erie Benedictines cheer cancelled plastic.

At Presentation Arts Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Daughters of Charity offer a variety of creative programs for locals who otherwise wouldn't have access to the arts.