It's been nearly 30 years since Sr. Thea Bowman famously declared to a gathering of the U.S. Catholic bishops that her "black self," with all the black songs, dances and traditions she'd imbibed while growing up in Canton, Mississippi, was a gift to the church. In this two-part series, Global Sisters Report is looking at the way black spirituality has shaped religious life for black women, starting with a background on its history.

“I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint ... For some years now, I think, I have made some request of him every year on his festival and I have always had it granted. If my petition is in any way ill-directed, he directs it aright for my greater good.”

See for Yourself - Guided by my trusty keychain flashlight and good hearing, I set off in the middle of the night to investigate the source of a wailing alarm. 

In recent months, I've been hearing the phrase "doing what is ours to do" in various contexts and situations. Religious communities have been asking, "What is ours to do at this time?" 

National Catholic Sisters Week - The "Are you Smarter than the Sisters?" trivia night held in Arlington, Virginia, was part of an effort to reach out to more young Catholics while also promoting awareness of Support Our Aging Religious. More than 100 people came to the fundraiser.

"Religious life is not a self-selected option — it is a call to give one's entire life in love to Christ and to his prophetic mission to confront and change the oppressive and unjust structures in our world: political, economic, cultural, religious or any other."

"There are only a few of us who are in this wonderful, privileged position of being able to say, 'OK, we are looking at this as historians. We are also looking at this as insiders.' How do I tell the story of religious life as one who has lived it?" 

When Sr. Anne McCrohan said goodbye to her parents and most of her 10 siblings at a train station in County Kerry, she thought it was forever. At age 18, McCrohan had agreed to go to America to teach parochial school students.

Simply Spirit: Former Irish President Mary McAleese prophetically said that Catholic patriarchalism "acts as a powerful brake on dismantling the architecture of misogyny wherever it is found." She was speaking at the March 8 Voices of Faith event in Rome.