Photo of the Week

May 9, 2022

Sister Carol Coston, OP, Founding Director, Attends 50th Anniversary Gala of NETWORK

Recipients of the inaugural Sr. Catherine Pinkerton Legacy Award – the first five Executive Directors of NETWORK – are, from left, Sisters Simone Campbell, SSS, Kathy Thornton, RSM, Nancy Sylvester, IHM, and Carol Coston, OP – along with Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Congregation, and Mary Novak, current Executive Director of NETWORK. Not pictured is the late Adrian Dominican Sister Maureen Fenlon, OP, also an early Executive Director.
***Photo by Shedrick Pent, Courtesy of NETWORK***

“Justice Ablaze” was the theme as Catholic Sisters and other social justice advocates gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C., on April 22 to celebrate the “50-year justice journey” of NETWORK: a Catholic social justice lobby. Among the celebrants were Sister Carol Coston, OP, Founding Executive Director of NETWORK; Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Congregation and a member of the 50^th Anniversary Host Committee; and Sister Elise García, OP, General Councilor.

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During the Gala, Sister Carol and four other Executive Directors of NETWORK were the inaugural recipients of the Sister Catherine Pinkerton Legacy Award, which recognizes “social justice advocates who have spent their lives working to change structures that cause poverty and inequality.” The other four directors were Sisters Nancy Sylvester, IHM; Kathy Thornton, RSM; Adrian Dominican Sister Maureen Fenlon, OP; Simone Campbell, SSS. Also receiving the award was the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

First Catholic Lobby in the United States Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC) received the inaugural Distinguished Justice-Seeker Award.

“It’s hard for me to envision that [NETWORK] lasted for 50 years,” given the many challenges, Sister Carol said in an interview before the celebration. “I think part of the anniversary celebration is to honor the congregations that were involved from the very beginning,” including the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Sister Carol was present in Washington, D.C., in December 1971 when a group of 47 Catholic Sisters from a variety of religious congregations met and decided to begin a network of Sisters to lobby for social justice. Among them were Adrian Dominican Sisters Marcella Hess, OP, Kathleen Gannon, OP, and Carol Jean McDonnell, OP. A steering committee met about a month later, and Sister Carol was chosen as the Founding Director. NETWORK officially began in April 1972.

Sister Carol Coston, OP, Founding Director of NETWORK, signs the organization’s bus used for the 2014 Nuns on the Bus campaign.
***Adrian Dominican Sisters File Photo***

Sister Carol recalled the humble beginnings of NETWORK. “After we had decided to go ahead and start NETWORK, two of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus offered us space in their house.” The first staff members received free room and board at a house near the Capitol. The office was on the second floor of a building owned by the Veterans of Foreign War.

One of the first challenges for NETWORK, Sister Carol said, was deciding which issues to focus on. “There were too many issues,” she said. The NETWORK leaders chose to lobby for legislative actions such as cutting off funds for the Vietnam War, reducing aid to countries that violated human rights, reducing the defense budget and increasing funds for social services, and raising the federal minimum wage.

NETWORK then brought Sisters together to lobby Congress for these actions. “We had the first legislative seminar in 1972,” Sister Carol recalled. “We did a crash course on what the process was and tried to get the women to know who their member of Congress was and, if possible, meet them.” She recalled putting the Sisters on buses to Capitol Hill to hold meetings with their Congressional representatives, lobbying for bills that enhanced social justice.

Sister Carol noted that legislative advocacy for justice was not a traditional ministry for Sisters. “Many times, the Sisters who came to the seminar might have been the only member of their congregation who was involved in political ministry,” she said. “It was encouraging to them to be with other Sisters” and to broaden their experience.

Sister Carol herself learned about the legislative process through her earlier ministry as a teacher whose students participated in speech and debate competitions. “This gave me a little bit of background on how Congress works,” she said. “I had the idea of how a bill becomes a law.”

In the years since, NETWORK has continued its work with Sisters to advocate for social justice. One of the most visible programs in recent years has been Nuns on the Bus, organized by Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, when she directed NETWORK. Nuns on the Bus operates during election years. Staff members of NETWORK and other Sisters travel to designated areas of the country to host town hall meetings, rallies, and presentations on designated areas of focus, such as voter engagement, politics for the common good, and tax justice.

Sister Carol said she learned much during her 10 years as Director of NETWORK. “You can do better together than by yourself,” she said. “What happened when we all came together for legislative seminars was that enthusiasm came from working together,” she said.

Her years of hard work to lobby for social justice did not go unnoticed. In January 2001, President Bill Clinton presented Sister Carol with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest honor for civilians, for her work in helping to create NETWORK. She was the first Catholic Sister to receive this honor.

Read more about Sister Carol and her work in building up NETWORK in this Global Sisters Report article by Dan Stockman.

April 26, 2022

Dominican Sisters of Peace Elect New Leaders, Set Direction at Third General Chapter Themed “Love Impels our Journey”

The new Leadership Team of the Dominican Sisters of Peace was elected at the Third General Chapter, held April 19-24 in Columbus, OH. Standing, left to right, Second Councilor Sr. Carol Davis, OP, Prioress Patricia Twohill, OP, and Fourth Councilor Sr. Susan Leslie, OP. Seated, from left, Third Councilor Sr. Cathy Arnold, OP, and First Councilor Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP.

Columbus, OH – April 25, 2022 – The Dominican Sisters of Peace convened their Third General Chapter at the Hyatt Regency Hotel April 19-25. The Chapter was delayed for one year because of the COVID pandemic.

The congregation elected new leaders for the term 2022-2028. Sr. Pat Twohill, OP, was elected for a second term as Prioress. Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP, was elected for a second term as First Councilor. Sister Carol Davis, OP, as elected as Second Councilor, Sr. Cathy Arnold, OP, as Third Councilor, and Sr. Susan Leslie, OP, as Fourth Councilor. To learn more about the new Leadership team, visit our website at oppeace.org.

Sisters Therese Leckert, OP, Gemma Doll, OP, and Gene Poore, OP, will complete their terms August 7, 2022.

A highlight of the first day of the meeting was a webcast launching a year-long celebration of the 200^th anniversary of Dominican women religious in the United States. On Easter Sunday, April 7, 1822, four women answered the call to serve God’s people in what was then the frontier community of Springfield, Kentucky. From those four women grew the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary Magdalen, eventually known as the Kentucky Dominicans. The Kentucky Dominicans was part of the union that created the Dominican Sisters of Peace in 2009.

Kerry Robinson, Global Ambassador and former executive director of the Leadership Roundtable, author of Imagining Abundance and a well-known speaker on the topics of philanthropy, development, and faith, spoke on those topics in relationship to the Chapter theme.

Kerry’s exceptional presentation, “Love Impels: Toward a New Culture of Leadership in the Church,” acknowledged the human flaws of the Church, but also the Church’s power to touch the vulnerable of the world and heal the wounded. Her affirmation of the contribution of women, and in particular women religious, to the Church was inspiring.

As part of the business of the Chapter, the members approved Direction Statements for the next six years. These commitments, corresponding to the Chapter theme of Love Impels Our Journey, will be used as a framework for the ways in which the sisters live and carry out their work.

Love impels us to foster and create cultures of inclusion by examining the reasons for and history of racism, with the goal of eradicating this sin against God’s people and engaging in restorative justice.

Love impels us to treasure and reverence the Earth by following the precepts of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, On Care for our Common Home; acting to reduce of our carbon footprint individually and communally and acting in solidarity with others in caring for the Earth.

Love impels us to foster lives of prayer and contemplation by growing in and demonstrating the transformative power of Gospel living, promoting peace-making and reconciliation, and working with others to heal the wounded Body of Christ in our world.

Love impels us to Prophetic Preaching of the Gospel message by using the lens of Truth to discern reality, speaking Truth in our words, actions and lives, and confronting injustice.

Love impels us toward the future of Dominican Life by emerging forms of Dominican Life and Mission with our Dominican Sisters around the world, by working to sustain our own congregation and by promoting the call to Dominican life as vowed members and associates.

To read the full text of the new Direction Statements, please visit OPPeace.org.

The mission of the Dominican Sisters of Peace is to bring the Gospel to the world by being peace, building peace, and preaching peace. They number more than 350 Sisters and 700 Associates. They minister in 22 states, 29 Catholic Dioceses and in Nigeria, serving God’s people in ministerial areas including education, health care, spirituality, pastoral care, prison ministry, and care of creation.

March 29, 2022

Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa Celebrate 175th Anniversary Mass with Bishop Hying

A special Mass for the Sinsinawa Dominican congregation’s 175^th anniversary was held at Sinsinawa Mound March 20, 2022. Bishop of Madison Donald J. Hying (center) presided and used the chalice of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli. Those serving as extraordinary eucharistic ministers were (from left) Sisters Mary Margaret (Marie Antoine) Murphy, Priscilla Torres, Ellie (Francesco) Hoffmann, and Laura (Bernal) Goedken; Janice DeMuth (coworker); and Karen Timmerman (associate/coworker).

The Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa held an 11 a.m. Mass March 20 in honor of their 175^th yearlong anniversary celebration of the congregation with Diocese of Madison Bishop Donald J. Hying presiding in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa Mound. Those present included sisters of the congregation and the leadership councils of neighboring congregations of sisters, coworkers, Dominican Associates of Sinsinawa, and invited guests. Due to continued COVID restrictions, the Mass was livestreamed for others to attend virtually.

The mood, music, and liturgy matched the beauty of the illuminated slab glass windows of Queen of the Rosary Chapel. Sister Toni Harris, OP, who serves as the 14^th prioress of the congregation, gave a welcome, beginning with the congregation’s land acknowledgment statement. She described how the Congregation’s Motherhouse at Sinsinawa started out in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, was part of the La Crosse Diocese for a time, and is now in the Madison Diocese, “but we never moved!”

Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, established the congregation in 1847 with a small group of immigrant women. “Since, nearly 3,400 women have made vows as Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Two more will make perpetual vows in May,” said Sister Toni. The sisters are celebrating their history and looking forward to their future. She acknowledged that Lent is not ordinarily the season of celebration and ended with, “Lives can be miraculously reborn if we find the courage to live them in accordance with the Gospel. Holding this hope, let us fully embrace the challenge of Father Samuel that we have heard thousands of times, embrace it in a new way, and set out into the years ahead for ‘any place where the work is great and difficult, but where also with the help of the one who sends us we shall open the way for the Gospel.’”

Bishop Hying gave thanks to God for the congregation and their rich spiritual legacy. “Before Wisconsin even became a state, your community was here. None of you look that old, by the way,” he joked. “So many of you have given your entire lives to this work, this mission, this community, and to your charism.” He reflected on the sisters’ call to enter religious life, the places they have ministered, and “the people whose lives that have been touched and enriched and informed because of your wisdom, your holiness, your prayer, your consecration. Only God can measure the ultimate impact of nearly 3,400 women radically consecrated to Christ and the service of the Gospel. None of us can ever fully measure or weigh the glory of that impact. This is a beautiful moment to celebrate your legacy.”

Bishop Hying brought forth the gospel message of surrendering to God, “who is in charge and working out the purpose of salvation.” He spoke of Father Mazzuchelli’s trust in divine providence and the legacy the sisters and others have continued. Bishop Hying closed with, “For all that has transpired and has been completely a blessing to the world and to the Church because of your community, we give thanks and praise.”

The Mass can be viewed online at www.sinsinawa.org/live by clicking on the “on demand” tab. To recognize the 175^th anniversary of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, send a donation to Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI, 53824-9701 or go to www.sinsinawa.org/donate online.

The Sinsinawa Dominicans invite you to learn more about our worldwide Dominican family, the Order of Preachers. For over 800 years, Dominicans have continued to preach the Gospel in word and deed. Today, thousands of sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world. Visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org.

February 14, 2022

Religious Candidacy is a Homecoming for Ohio Native

Kristen Wolf Enters the Dominican Sisters of Peace

**Kristen Wolf,** right, knocks on the door of the Congregation as part of her entrance ceremony as **Vocations Director Sr. June Fitzgerald, OP**, (left) looks on.

In the book of Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminds the people of God that the Holy Spirit empowers all gifts.

For Dominican Sisters of Peace Candidate Kristen M. Wolf, known as Kristie, those gifts include intelligence, compassion, and physical gifts like athleticism and strength. After coaching young gymnasts for many years, Kristie’s ministry for the past 15 years has been as a physical therapist, working with stroke survivors and other persons with physical challenges. She will continue to serve the people of God in this capacity as she discerns her call to become a Dominican Sister of Peace. Wolf will officially enter the Congregation as a candidate on Sunday, February 13 in Columbus, OH.

Kristie earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She went on to earn a Master of Science and Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Walsh University in North Canton, OH.

Kristie was drawn to religious life by a search for a deeper, more personal walk with God. She saw an article in her parish bulletin that asked the question, ‘Are you feeling called to a deeper spirituality?’ “It’s like they were speaking directly to me,” Kristie says.

When she read further to see that the article was inviting adults to discern joining the Associates’ Program of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, she knew she had found the answer. Kristie had attended Our Lady of the Elms High School, a founded ministry of the Congregation, and was familiar with the Sisters and their spirituality.

Kristie had already integrated three of The Four Pillars of Dominican Life into her own life – prayer, study, and ministry – and was looking for the fourth pillar – community. Celebrating Mass at The Elms and attending Come and See retreats at several different Motherhouses gave her the opportunity to experience that community life. “Everywhere I have gone, I have been welcomed with love and joy. This gave me the courage to move from exploration to application and entrance. I will continue to learn, grow, and discern as I pray, study, and live with these strong and compassionate women dedicated to serving the needs of others, as Jesus modelled.”

**Candidate Kristen Wolf**, in green, receives the blessing of the Congregation during her Entrance ceremony on February 13 in Columbus, OH.

Kristie found the place of women in the Dominican family attractive. “Women have been essential to the mission of the Dominican order from the beginning of Dominic’s leadership,” Kristie says. “The Dominican mission and the commitments of the Dominican Sisters of Peace – especially work for social and ecological justice – also resonate strongly with my own convictions.”

Kristie Wolf is the daughter of Leland (Lee) and Diane Wolf of Cuyahoga Falls, OH. She has a one sister, Jacqueline. She is a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Cuyahoga Falls.

Kristie moved into the Dominican Sisters of Peace House of Welcome in January 2022. She will continue her ministry in Physical Therapy in Columbus, OH, during her candidacy. The Dominican Sisters of Peace have an active Vocations and Formation ministry, with three Sisters in the Novitiate and three having taken Temporary Vows.

January 18, 2022

Photo of the Week: New Intentional Community at Mariandale

The Dominican Sisters of Hope are launching an intentional community for recent college grads at The Center at Mariandale in Ossining, NY, called the Hope Volunteer Community. This 11-month program will provide young adults with an opportunity to serve others and care for Earth in return for room, board, and a small stipend.

Volunteers will share meals, tend the garden, and serve the local community. Recognizing that young people are often the best “teachers” to their peers and to those younger, volunteers will also help lead high school and college retreats at the Center. The community will meet regularly with Dominican Sisters of Hope to reflect on their experience, gain wisdom and insight, and explore their spirituality.

Mariandale Executive Director Carl Procario-Foley described how the program came to be. “The Center recognizes the need to expand its inter-generational programs, utilize space creatively, and to offer meaningful experiences to engage future generations in transformative ways,” he said. “This program is a direct extension of the mission of the congregation, as it is hope-filled, aiming to cultivate the core values of Dominican spirituality in the lives of young people.” Goals include developing skills for sustainable gardening and serving community-based agencies, and learning new practices of prayer and contemplation.

“The program is ideal for young adults who wish to live in community and integrate service and spirituality into their lives,” he continued. “It may also attract young people who need a nurturing space to discern a new direction for their career.” Requiring a commitment of 15-20 hour per week, the program allows for the pursuit of graduate studies, should participants wish to enroll at a local university. Having previously worked in campus ministry, Procario-Foley understands that in transitioning out of college and entering graduate studies, “students may seek the supportive setting of a community to grow the values they hope to embody.” He sees the community element as key to the transformational impact of such programs. “We expect the volunteers will grow life-long friends and cherished mentors,” he said.

Many elements make the Hope Volunteer Community different from the 120 other programs in the Catholic Volunteer Network, according to Procario-Foley. Situated on Mariandale’s 64 acres abutting the Hudson River, participants will live in retreat center context, and the program will emphasize the integration of eco-spirituality and sustainable gardening with direct social service work. Applications for the cohort which begins in September 2022 will be accepted online through April 1^st.