March 20, 2025

DSC Executive Committee Meet to Plan Encuentro 2025

The DSC Executive Committee recently gathered in Sparkill, NY, for a productive and inspiring in-person meeting from March 9-12. The Visioning and Planning Committee joined us via Zoom for part of our time together, and our discussions were centered around the much-anticipated DSC 2025 Encuentro!

We are thrilled to share that this special gathering will take place at the Marriott Hotel by the Airport in St. Louis, MO, from October 9-11, 2025. Stay tuned—cost and registration details will be announced soon!

One of the most meaningful moments of our meeting was the selection of the official Encuentro logo, chosen with prayer and deep reflection. This logo will accompany us on our journey as we prepare to come together in faith, connection, and shared mission. We also had the joy of finalizing the 90-Year Collaborative Celebration logo, which beautifully honors our shared history and the legacy of Dominican collaboration.

We invite all sisters, associates, friends, and family to join us in prayer as we embrace this year’s call to be “Preachers of Hope for Times Such as These.”

We can’t wait to share more updates as plans unfold. Mark your calendars, and let’s look forward to this incredible time of renewal, community, and celebration in 2025!

With hope and gratitude,
The DSC Executive Committee

February 27, 2025

NGO Civil Society Orientation

The week of February 9-14th was the Commission on Social Development. It was a week of presentations on how well countries are doing to protect the most vulnerable
people in their countries.
On February 9th the NGO Civil Society held an orientation on 38th street. It was Sunday post the biggest snowfall we had here in New York City. Fortunately, the City had the streets fairly well cleared up for busses and public transportation to run.
Approximately 40 people attended the. Orientation in person. And a similar population was online.The opening speaker was a Roma woman. As you know they are intensely segregated by many populations. The young Roma woman shared her story of discrimination and of her people. From there the executive committee of the NGO outlined the week of the CSOCD 63. We ended the morning of orientation with a delicious lunch and lots of conversation.
Please look over these wonderful photos of those in attendance of the Orientation.

February 27, 2025

Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Travels to Columbus to address Dominican Sisters of Peace Ministry Leaders

Columbus, OH, The Dominican Sisters of Peace welcomed Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP, as the featured speaker for their Founded Ministries Meeting in January. The visit to Columbus was his first trip abroad since being installed as a cardinal by His Holiness Pope Francis on December 7, 2024, in Rome, Italy.

Cardinal Radcliffe has had a close relationship with the Congregation for many years. The English Catholic priest and theologian served as the global Master of the Dominican Order and bonded with the assembly of Sisters since their beginnings in 2009. In his January 21 address, the cardinal referred to the Dominican Sisters of Peace as, “ancient, new and, like Abraham and Sarah (in the Old Testament) unexpectedly fertile.”

The domestic ministries of the Dominican Sisters of Peace represented at the meeting are varied and include ecology, education and learning centers, educational institutions, spiritual life, and health care centers.

The cardinal addressed the ministry leaders on Synodal Reciprocity, the dignity and interdependence between individuals, and the power of listening and learning from each other. The topic for his presentation was inspired by the Synod on Synodality, a multi-year process of dialogue and listening within the Catholic Church that concluded with a global assembly in 2024. At the request of Pope Francis, Cardinal Radcliffe served as Retreat Master for the 2024 pre-Synod retreat.

This intimate knowledge of the Synodal process was a valuable gift to the Congregation’s ministry leaders, many of whom are lay people who support the work of ministry. They were able to take the Cardinal’s message back to their ministries including, “We have to rediscover mutuality… we are only alive with and for each other.” He continued, “This is what’s really new in the Synod – it’s the move from mutuality to reciprocity.”

“We flourish in relationships — and we are who we are only with, and from, and for each other,” continued Radcliffe. This is important to the Congregation’s ministry leaders, who work with and serve people from various backgrounds and cultures.

Sr. Pat Connick, OP, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Sansbury Care Center, a care home in St. Catharine, KY, commented that she “is excited to live into that reality that Cardinal Radcliffe addressed and believes the universe has been doing this since the beginning.”

Dominican Sisters of Peace Prioress Pat Twohill stated her thanks for the address and added, “Dialogue is part of all of our ministries and Cardinal Radcliffe invites us to bring the Synod’s insights into the very fabric of how we lead our ministries and engage those we serve.”

Finally, the artwork of Sr. Thoma Swanson, a collection of very different but happy faces, was presented to Cardinal Radcliffe. The work was inspired by Cardinal Radcliffe’s writing and was dedicated to him by Sr. Thoma with these words, “Each face a particular Word of God.”

Radcliffe served as the global Master of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) from 1992 until 2001. In this role he travelled to every continent (except Antarctica) visiting Dominican Friars and all members of the Dominican Family. During his tenure he was very supportive of the founding of Dominican Sisters International whose first International Coordinator was Dominican Sister of Peace, Sr. Margaret Ormond.

Fr. Timothy’s commitment to dialogue across cultural, social, and religious divides has made him a popular leader in the Catholic Church as well as a sought-after speaker and author.

February 27, 2025

Associate Spotlight – Milena Morales, OPA

Milena Morales, the Director of Human Resources for the Sisters of St.
Dominic of Amityville, has been an associate of the Congregation for 18
years.

“When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a nun, however, the only thing
that stopped me was that I didn’t want to wear the habit,” she said with a
laugh. When she came to the United States, and started to work for the
Dominican Sisters, she realized she could become part of the
Congregation as a lay person. “I decided to join. It was a blessing from
God to give me the life opportunity to be part of a Congregation AND to
be married and have a family; HE gave me both!” Milena has three
children: Mariana, Alejandro and Santiago as well as two stepsons,
Jonathan and Daniel with her husband Olman.

Milena loves being an associate. “I love being part of a group of
amazing people who care and work hard to support and help others,” she
said. “My heart always goes to the service of others, and this
Congregation provides that.”

The four pillars of Dominican life– prayer, study, community, and
ministry – support her faith. “I truly live the four pillars,” she said.
“Prayer: Nothing is more powerful than prayer. As a Catholic, this is a
fundamental part of me, my background and being faithful to the
Gospel. Study: We must be open to learning something new every day.
This Congregation gives me the opportunity as Director of Human
Resources to continue learning and supporting our future together.

Community is that great feeling of belonging, and for sure, this
Congregation welcomes everyone with open arms. Ministry: I love
mission. I previously had served in ministries in my country and now in
the United States. I have been a catechist for more than 10 years serving
in my parish St. Brigid’s, Westbury, NY. I have helped in my parish
with the Hispanic part of the bulletin, served in the chorus, and worked
with a group of lay people to help create the Saturday evening Spanish
Mass in my parish.” She also serves as treasurer of the Music Parent
Association at her children’s school.

Milena serves the Congregation through her job and vocation of being
an Associate each day. “I love the Dominican Sisters and their mission,”
she said. “They are pure love and caring human beings.”

February 27, 2025

Sister Spotlight – Margaret Galiardi, OP

Sister Margaret Galiardi is celebrating her 60th Jubilee as a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville this year.

Sister Margaret recalls a conversation with a river boat guide who told her, “The people who have the most fun on my trips are the people who can find the current and ride the current.”

“I think of my life as a river,” said Sister Margaret. “I’d like to think that my life was about paying attention to the underground spring, the Holy Spirit, that was feeding me and guiding me and that is what led me to do the variety of things that I have done. I have always tried to make ministry decisions based on ‘Would this ministry help move the world to the next place it needs to be in?’”

It is certainly true that the spirit has led Sister Margaret to a variety of ministries. Like a river, with twists and turns, and periods of calm and tumult — she followed the holy spirit wherever it led her.

Over the years, she was involved in many ministries including education, justice and preaching, often accompanying the poor and advocating for the Earth — all rooted in contemplative prayer. Here is a sample of her ministries:

She began her vocation as a teacher on Long Island at St. Hugh of Lincoln in Huntington Station, St. Agnes Cathedral School in Rockville Centre and Queen of the Rosary School in Roosevelt — but soon moved on!
She served as a pastoral associate at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport visiting the sick and ministering in religious education. “The people of Centerport taught me that the Church is the people of God,” she said. “The way they lived, their involvement, their hunger for spirituality was inspiring.”
She ministered in the Intercommunity Center for Justice and Peace (ICJP) in Manhattan, a coalition of about 30 different Religious Congregations of men and women who seek to bring structural changes to society, powered by Catholic social teaching.
She resided in Providence House for 10 years, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph. It’s a house for women (and their children) who are homeless, abused or recently released from prison in Brooklyn.
She lived in and provided care for guests of the Interfaith Nutrition Network as the Homelessness Prevention Coordinator in Hempstead.
She embarked on a vision quest, including living on the land for ten days of solitude and fasting. Her interactions with the natural world, and specifically a curious fox, impacted the way she saw the world.
She was elected to the Leadership Council of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville as the Director of Ministry.
She was named the North American Promoter for Justice for the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace. She — as well as other sisters from Dominican Congregations throughout the country — traveled to Iraq to support the sisters and people there who were devastated by the Persian Gulf War.
She lived, prayed and worked with the Cistercian Sisters in the Redwoods Monastery in Northern California rooting herself in contemplative silence.

Throughout the years, there have been other ministries as well. Sister Margaret has a special love for the preaching charism. She recalls serving in the New River Catholic Community in “mission country” in Virginia. As a campus minister at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Each Sunday, she served as the homilist at the local parish. “It went really well, and the people were wonderful,” she said. Her popularity with the parishioners attracted the attention of the local bishop, who informed her not to preach at Mass anymore. When the people were told, there was an outcry of support for her. “I have bags full of mail about you,” she recalled the words of the bishop to her. She would later preach nationally about the Universe story and the Christian story, influenced by Brian Swimme and Passionist Priest Thomas Berry.

As a Dominican, Sister Margaret believes it is important to “hand down to others the fruits of contemplation,” she said, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas. “There is a hunger for God,” she said. “There is a God-sized hole at the center of every human heart. And that is all of our stories! And our role is a call to contemplate and to give others the fruit of our contemplation. We have been invited to a relationship with God. And we share that relationship with others.”

Years ago, she started offering “group spiritual direction” at St. Ignatius Church in Long Beach, NY. Two groups met there for more than a decade, sharing and discerning God’s path for their lives. Now, two of these group members are choosing to become associates of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville. And The Preaching Continues…