Rhina Guidos

"He has shared meals with us, celebrated with us, accompanied us, encouraged us, and that is moving for us, because he has done so in his simplicity, with trust, with prayer," one sister said.

No man received 89 votes, or two-thirds of the 133 cardinal electors.

Many on the margins felt like Pope Francis was the last world leader defending them. Now, with a conclave ahead, sisters in social ministries say they hope the next pope shares Francis' preference for the poor.

Despite hopes for potential sainthood, in Argentina, "we cry because we did not fully understand or appreciate the extent of his global leadership," said an Argentine priest.

Many young people who had planned to attend the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, were among those who paid their respects to the late pontiff April 26. 

A simplified papal funeral will make a fitting farewell for a pontiff who just three days after his surprise election expressed his desire for "a church that is poor and for the poor."

Maria Bambina Sr. Susana Vanni says Argentina's divisions, then Pope Francis' health, likely tilted against the longed-for papal visit to his native country.

Latin Americans observed that Pope Francis, the first pope from the new world, brought to the Vatican a new way of talking about God, lifting up causes and convictions that they shared.

As migrants in the U.S. scramble amid rapidly changing policies, congregations join forces to help immigration-related ministries near San Diego.

Dominican Sr. Carol Gilbert joined Catholics and members of various faiths for a Holy Week vigil April 14 in the park in front of the White House, to support the family of deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

At a March event for sister researchers, sponsored by the Hilton Foundation, sisters shared ways data can enrich ministries and general knowledge of women religious.

"It's to show solidarity that we're very much their partners. We just feel like they've gone through so much," said Benedictine Sr. Mary Elizabeth Schweiger. 

The Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University organized a panel highlighting the downstream and life-or-death effects of the recent cuts to USAID.

Sisters are participating in the church's campaign: "Yes to life, no to mining," calling for the restoration of a law against metal mining in El Salvador. 

Sr. Lucia Caram, who ministers to Ukrainian war victims in Spain, shares her outrage at the heated exchange between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"He is loved by many, many, many people": From Buenos Aires to Mexico City, Latin Americans expressed closeness to the Argentine pope as he battles double pneumonia for the second week in a hospital room in Rome.

Salesian sister wins book prize. Network hosts webinar. Sisters speak out on USAID funding cuts.

Also, CLINIC condemns termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, and Mercy Sisters voice support for the Episcopalian bishop who pleaded with President Donald Trump to "have mercy."

The Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious, known as CLAR, has responded to online reports that a group of Poor Clares had been expelled from Nicaragua.

"We have to fight to get rid of clericalism, to transform clericalism, not to deny [women] access to ministries," Consuelo Vélez, of the Colombian Association of Women Theologians, told Global Sisters Report.