(Unsplash/Colin Lloyd)
Editor's note: Global Sisters Report's Monday Starter is a feature from GSR staff writers that rounds up news from or about women religious that you may otherwise have missed.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the news, you're far from alone. There are also millions of people who want to do something, but just don't know what.
Network, the Catholic social justice lobby, has an answer: Get organized.
The lobbying group started by, and still largely run by, Catholic sisters is launching its Organizing Institute, a four-month program designed to strengthen your ability to recruit new people into the movement against the rise of authoritarianism and unaffordability of daily living, build powerful teams and communicate an inspirational message.
The sessions are virtual and are Thursdays, every other week, from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern, starting March 5 and ending June 25. The deadline to apply is Feb. 11, but officials advise applying as soon as possible.
Sessions — which need to be participated in live, as they will not be recorded — include topics such as building healthy and effective coalitions and creating powerful events.
Religious Formation Conference hosts workshops on navigating grief
Grief is a part of life, for both individuals and communities. And those responsible for the formation of religious need to help the people they're forming navigate that grief.
Mercy Sr. Mary Pat Garvin (GSR photo/Dan Stockman)
The Religious Formation Conference normally focuses only on formators — forming those who do formation. But the ForMission 2.0 program is designed for everyone who wants to deepen their capacity for formation and mission, including those in formation, leadership and ministry.
The virtual workshops, led by Mercy Sr. Mary Pat Garvin, will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central on Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 on Zoom.
While grief is a natural emotion, it needs to be navigated effectively, especially communal grief experienced by a religious institute. The description of the program says, "Drawing on insights from theology, spirituality, and contemporary psychology we will explore our topic seeking ways to notice God's graced companionship."
Garvin has taught formation, trained those who teach formation, helped create formation programs, and conducts ongoing formation for congregations and their members around the world. She was the 2025 recipient of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' Outstanding Leadership Award.
Sisters to provide free guided online meditation series
The Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods continue their monthly virtual guided meditation series in February.
The free Zoom sessions provide a serene space to deepen your listening to the Spirit while fostering your connection with God. Participants are guided through exploring meaningful themes in their lives, and engaging your mind, body and heart in prayerful reflection, each led by a Sister of Providence.
Sessions are 7-8 p.m. Eastern on Thursdays Feb. 26 and March 26, and Sunday, April 26. Register online, by calling 812-535-2946, or emailing [email protected].
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Indian sisters, priests given travel safety advisory after train mishap
A Catholic bishop in India has issued a travel safety advisory for sisters and priests after a nun lost her leg in a train mishap.
Bishop Ignatius D'Souza of Bareilly told religious that Sr. Shaila Kaitan Gomes, a member of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa, lost her leg in a train accident in Uttar Pradesh state.
"I earnestly request all Fathers and Sisters to refrain from attempting to board or alight from running trains under any circumstances," D'Souza wrote in a Jan. 9 circular to the clergy and religious in his northern Indian diocese.
Carmelite Sr. Shaila Kaitan Gomes is seen in a recent portrait. (Courtesy of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa)
Gomes, 56, was traveling Jan. 9 from Delhi to Bhopal, some 500 miles south of New Delhi, to deliver documents to her provincial. She exited the train at Agra, some 120 miles south of New Delhi, to buy some food from the platform kiosks, but the train began to leave. As she was getting onto the moving train car, her leg slipped from the steps and she fell down through the gap between the platform and the train.
A viral video on social media shows people on the platform pulling her up from under the train with her leg cut from above the knee. She also lost the big toe of the other foot and her shoulder was dislocated as the rescuers pulled her to safety.
Gomes was taken to a local hospital, but religious in the diocese arranged for an ambulance to take her to a hospital in New Delhi, where she underwent surgery.
"This tragic incident has deeply saddened us all," D'Souza wrote. "Sadly, this is not the first such occurrence and it compels me to write to you with serious concern."
Global Sisters Report met Gomes in Ganga Ram Hospital, where she was cheerful and expected to be discharged on Jan. 13.
In a similar incident in 2017, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, Sr. Ambika Pillai, a member of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden, lost her left leg in a train accident.
