Community News

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Shillong Province celebrated the 150 years of the foundation of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) on 6 August 2022 at the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians, Shillong. Marking this beautiful event 16 Sisters made their Perpetual Profession offering their life as permanent members of the Institute. The Eucharistic celebration on this twin celebration was presided over by Most Rev.

Sister Hélène Mercier is celebrating 25 years of monastic life at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. The public is invited to join us in celebrating this milestone on Sunday, July 31. Eucharist will take place at 10:30 a.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel, and there will be a reception from 2–4 p.m. in the Gathering Place. If you are unable to join us in person, the celebration will be livestreamed on our website. Visit the liturgy page and scroll to the “Community Celebrations” section at the bottom of the page.

Single women are invited to attend a weekend of self-discovery and vocation discernment at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. During two separate Come and Be Discernment Retreats, participants will learn and discover some of the Benedictine and Christian values that shape the monastic community, listen to personal reflections to help them understand if God is calling them to explore religious life, and learn about the sisters whose prayer and lifestyles are rooted in faith.

Five Sisters of the Precious Blood recently celebrated milestone anniversaries of entrance into the Congregation:

Sister Mary Garascia 60 years
Sister Carolyn Hoying 60 years
Sister Nancy Kinross 60 years
Sister Marie Kopin 60 years
Sister Rosemary Laux 80 years

All the Sisters were recognized at a Mass and banquet July 3 at Salem Heights, the Congregation’s central house in Dayton.

Sister Ephrem Hollermann recently published a new book titled Like a Mustard Seed: A History of the First Benedictine Women’s Monastery in North America. It is available for purchase in Whitby Gift Shop at Saint Benedict's Monastery's Art and Heritage Place or online.

In 2020, Richard Bresnahan, pottery director at Saint John’s University (SJU), Collegeville, Minn., and Mary Bruno, local artist and owner of Bruno Press, St. Joseph, Minn., embarked on a nine-month-long collaboration to produce a letterpress-printed scroll of the Rule of St. Benedict that measures 32’ long and contains 36 pages. The scroll, which had been on display at the Alcuin Library at SJU, will be displayed in the Gathering Place of Saint Benedict's Monastery during the month of July. The public is invited to come and marvel over every intricate detail. 

Amityville Dominican Associate Angela Belsole has been involved with a not-for-profit called Songcatchers for more than two decades! She is currently the interim director of the program. The organization provides affordable access to music education and enrichment for families in New Rochelle, NY. Most recently, she, her son Christopher and members of Songcatchers were part of a special effort to call attention to those suffering in the Ukraine.

More than 30 participants braved a very cold and windy evening to pray and commemorate World Refugee Day and Juneteenth at an event sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse in Amityville.

The Religious Formation Conference (RFC) seeks its next Executive Director to lead the National Office. Full-time position to begin January 1, 2023. Intention is to fill the position by early fall of 2022.

The Conference is an animating resource for initial and ongoing formation in religious life on a local, national, and global level for both women’s and men’s congregations. The RFC boldly creates spaces for discernment that shape and inform formation now and into the future.

Benedictine Sisters from 17 monasteries across the United States and Mexico gathered at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, from June 15-19 for the Federation of St. Scholastica Chapter. Besides the Sisters conducting their regular meeting, held every four years, to discuss matters of concern, plan for the future, and elect new leaders for this union of autonomous monasteries, they also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Federation’s official approval by the Vatican on February 25, 1922.

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release:  June 7, 2022

Sisters of the Holy Cross celebrate jubilee anniversaries

Notre Dame, Ind. – Five Sisters of the Holy Cross will celebrate their jubilee years of consecrated life during a virtual ceremony on July 16, 2022. One sister is celebrating 50 years since her initial profession, and four are celebrating 25 years.

The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph elected four Sisters to lead them during the next four years, including two who have previously served in office.

Sister Sharon Sullivan was elected congregational leader, a position she filled from 2010-16. Sister Sharon is celebrating her 40th year as an Ursuline Sister, with most of her time in ministry serving at Brescia College/University in Owensboro, Ky. She is currently coordinator of special education and a professor at Brescia.

By Katie Mahon, Communications Manager

For 21 years, Cathy McCann has been a Blauvelt Dominican Associate.

On the most recent episode of the Hearts Afire Podcast, she reflected on what the program means to her and its connection with the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York.

The Wheaton Franciscans, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, an international congregation of women religious, are hosting a Celebration of Presence in recognition of their 75th year of presence in Wheaton, Illinois, and their 150th year of presence in the United States.

May 25, 2022, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement, calling for common sense gun safety laws in the wake of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas – the third mass shooting in 10 days.

By Katie Mahon, Communications Manager

1930 was a difficult time for the United States as it marked the beginning of the Great Depression, which would lead to an unemployment rate of over 24.5%.

Even with the turmoil during that time, the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, managed to reach a milestone.

Saint Benedict’s Monastery will welcome two new members when Sister Bridgette Powers and Sister Laura Suhr make perpetual monastic profession on Monday, July 11, 2022, the Feast of Saint Benedict. Making perpetual monastic profession means that S. Bridgette and S. Laura will commit to a lifelong journey of seeking God according to the Gospel and the Rule of Benedict in community, including commitment to stability, the monastic way of life, obedience, celibate chastity, and monastic poverty.

Adrian Dominican Sisters Support

LCWR Statement on Buffalo Shooting

May 18, 2022, Adrian, Michigan – As members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), we Adrian Dominican Sisters strongly support this statement deploring the racial hatred and gun violence that led to the devastating loss of life in Buffalo, New York, with the mass shooting of May 14, 2022. The LCWR statement follows.

Violence and White Supremacy Cannot Stand

School Sisters of Notre Dame host online conversation about religious life

(April 22, 2022) – The North American Vocation Team (NAVT) of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) is hosting an online “Joyful & Alive Conversation” Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST). Single women ages 18-45 interested in how to discern God’s will for their life and/or who are curious about religious life are invited to attend and bring questions. More information and registration for the Zoom link is available at ssnd.org/events/6-7-22/.  

May 17, 2022, Adrian, Michigan – The following is a statement issued by the General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters in response to the tragic mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, 2022.

The Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary from around the world elected a new leadership team. “Our hearts are filled with joy in making this announcement,” said Sister Melanie Paradis, Regional Directress for the Wheaton Franciscans, the United States region of this international congregation.

80 years

Sister Marie Julie Fecher ministered as a music instructor in Kentucky for almost 50 years. From 1976-94, she was a music instructor at Brescia College/University in Owensboro, Ky.

70 years

Sister Eva Boone served as an educator for 23 years in Kentucky, Nebraska, Missouri and Indiana, then served in parish ministry for 14 years.

Sister Ruth Gehres served as an English professor and later president of Brescia College in Owensboro.

Sister Michael Ann Monaghan spent nearly 50 years as a teacher in Kentucky, Missouri and her beloved New Mexico.

After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a very special Eucharistic celebration took place in St. Scholastica Chapel at Mount St. Scholastica on Sunday, May 15.

The perpetual profession of vows as a Benedictine for Sister Jennifer Halling had originally been planned for September, 2021. In order for Sister Jennifer’s family to attend, the liturgy was rescheduled.

The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards are given annually by the Religion Communicators Council for excellence in religious communications and public relations. The following were announced as winning entries for work done in 2021 at the awards presentation on May 11: