Mass marks milestone for Marywood Legacy Campaign

Grand Rapids Dominicans

To celebrate both achieving their Phase I goal of raising $4 million for the Marywood Legacy Campaign and St. Catherine of Siena’s Feast Day, the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids hosted a special Mass, celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Walter A. Hurley, on April 29 at at Dominican Chapel/Marywood located on the Marywood Campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“The Marywood Campus has been a work in progress since our arrival to Grand Rapids in 1889,” said Sister Maureen Geary, OP, prioress of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids. “We are blessed with a campus that is alive and responsive to the changing needs of our sisters and the community around us. We welcome that change, and embrace the possibilities it holds. The faithful support of our donors allows us to remain good stewards of this 34-acre campus and sustainably offer ministries that respond to the spiritual and life journeys of people of all faiths.”

Phase I of the Marywood Legacy Campaign included support for the renovation of Aquinata Hall and Marywood Health Center, and the start-up of Marywood Home Health. “Through this generous campaign initiative and the formation of community partnerships, we have developed new and expanded health care ministries on the Marywood Campus providing spiritual companionship, senior living, rehabilitation and home health services,” said Sister Maureen.

Phase II of the campaign will focus on the future vision for the Marywood Campus and outline the process for the congregation’s next steps in planning for future campus needs and uses.

Additionally, the date for this special Mass was chosen for its significance to the Dominican Sisters. April 29 is the Feast Day of Saint Catherine of Siena, a Dominican mystic and Doctor of the Church. “Catherine of Siena is an important historical figure who worked indefatigably for the renewal of the church and of the world in which she lived,” says “Catherine of Siena” biographer Mary O’Driscoll, OP.

“We are cognizant of the ministry of presence parallels that exist between Catherine’s life and legacy, and the life and legacy of Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids,” said Sister Mary Ann Barrett, OP, member of the Sisters’ Leadership Team. “Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Dominic, and St. Thomas Aquinas continue to accompany us in our faith-filled living of vowed religious life in the 21st century, 800 years after the founding of the Order.”

For more information about the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, visit their web site.