Peter Finney Jr.

Peter Finney Jr.

Peter Finney Jr. is executive editor and general manager of the Clarion Herald, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

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St. Katharine Drexel's legacy endures as Black Catholic university she founded turns 100

Xavier was established in 1925 by St. Katharine Drexel on the financial strength of the multimillion-dollar inheritance she received from her Philadelphia father's banking estate. Stories are legendary about how the socially conscious heiress — a slight but energetic nun who overcame the hostility and indifference of society and the church — established an amazing network of schools, churches and missions specifically for Blacks and Native Americans.

An older white woman sits in a chair smiling at the camera next to a vase of sunflowers

Missionary sister says God told her to remain 'peacefully patient' during captivity in Burkina Faso

When Sr. Suellen Tennyson was abducted in April 2022 from her Burkina Faso convent, she was beginning a five-month journey into the inscrutable hands of God.

Marianite Sr. Suellen Tennyson, who is now safe in the United States after being held captive in Burkina Faso for nearly five months, is pictured Sept. 13 during an interview with the Clarion Herald, New Orleans' archdiocesan newspaper. (CNS/Clarion Heral

Kidnapped nun 'filled with gratitude' following her safe release in Africa

During nearly five months of captivity in Burkina Faso, Marianite Sr. Suellen Tennyson wondered aloud where God was hiding in the midst of her isolation and loneliness.

Three Marianite sisters (from left), Suellen Tennyson, Pascaline Tougma and Pauline Dourin, are pictured in an undated photo near the clinic where they serve in Yago, Burkina Faso. (CNS/Courtesy of the Marianites of the Holy Cross)

Marianite sister freed after five months of captivity in Burkina Faso

Marianite Sr. Suellen Tennyson, who was kidnapped from the convent of her educational and medical mission in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, in early April, has been found alive and is safe after nearly five months of captivity.

Three Marianite sisters (from left), Suellen Tennyson, Pascaline Tougma and Pauline Dourin, are pictured in an undated photo near the clinic where they serve in Yago, Burkina Faso. (CNS/Courtesy of the Marianites of the Holy Cross)

Marianite of Holy Cross sister kidnapped in Burkina Faso

Sr. Suellen Tennyson, 83, was kidnapped from the convent at Holy Family Parish in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, because she's American, the congregational leader for the community said.

Mother Lourdes García Muñoz presents a crucifix to Elsa Villa, a former Mexican diplomat, to kiss Aug. 7 as Villa and four other laypeople pledged to assist the nuns in caring for those who are terminally ill in their homes.

Laypeople join New Orleans sisters in 'ministry of presence' for terminally ill

There are nine Sisters Servants of Mary in New Orleans, but the demands for their service far exceed their ability to care for all of those who request their presence.

New Orleans' women religious donate 25 acres for flood control project