Sisters of Providence and LCWR

In April, 1956, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican Congregation for Religious asked the U.S. sisters to form a national conference and in November, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) was born. (It was initially launched as the Conference of Major Superiors of Women but in 1971, the organization was renamed.) It is a “voluntary organization whose members are dedicated to apostolic service in the Spirit of the Gospel” (Bylaws of LCWR, introduction). The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are members of the LCWR to communally carry out its service in furthering the mission of the Church in today’s world. Today, LCWR has nearly 1,500 members who are elected leaders in their religious orders, representing approximately 57,000 Catholic sisters. It is the largest organization of Catholic women religious.

 

Recent events

On April 18, 2012, in a document entitled Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has called for renewal of the LCWR. The CDF named Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle as its Archbishop Delegate for the initiative. Upon receiving the CDF document, the LCWR leadership asked its members to spend time in prayer as they began the process of discerning a response. The Sisters of Providence leadership asked the Congregation to especially pray the Litany of Non-Violence.

Dozens of Sisters of Providence, Providence Associates and
Candidates, staff and friends gathered in the Church of the
Immaculate Conception on Aug. 9 in prayerful support of
the Leadership Conference of Women Religious national
  meeting in St. Louis. The theme focused on enlightenment
and justice as participants shared prayer and hymns.
Leaders of the vigil also raised up the names of powerful,
enlightened women and held them in prayer; women from
  the Hebrew Testament, women who were leaders in Church
history and holy women of today.

 

August update

At the annual assembly of the LCWR in St. Louis, Aug. 7-10, more than 900 participants, including the Sisters of Providence General Officers, gathered for sustained prayer and dialogue, to consider various responses to the CDF report, with the goal of deciding together the next best steps for the conference following the assembly. The address of outgoing LCWR President Sister Pat Farrell, OSF, provides insights to the content and spirit of the gathering, as does the press release issued by LCWR on Friday, Aug. 10.

Tracking the trail of facts and memories

When we last visited with you, we hinted that Sister Maureen Abbott may have taken on a Sherlock Holmes persona to sift through the mysteries in Archives in order to write volume four of the Congregation’s history.

Danger lurks for Sister Maureen as she continues to examine files and documents in her search for truth!

The time period for this project covers 1926 to 1966, which eases into changes brought by Second Vatican Council. Dramatic shifts in Catholic culture occurred, for sure. But there is more reason to be concerned as Sister Maureen continues her investigation. Many of the sisters currently in community actually LIVED some of this history.

 “A lot of this is recorded in people’s memories. Whatever you put out there, you had better be right. People have their memories, people in general, not just the Sisters of Providence. They have their memories of how the sisters were or how they changed. This is going to be real hard-core information (in the book) actually drawn from the Archives and comments from the times. Almost everyone who reads it (the transcript) says, ‘Oh, I remember that!’” Sister Maureen said.

As we continue to bring attention to Women in History Month, it seems to be an appropriate time to introduce Sister Maureen’s work by letting her share some of the process that has led her through this journey. She plans to conclude her research and writing by the end of the year. We’ll let you know when the book, volume four of the Congregation’s history, is available.

In the meantime, what do you remember about how the Sisters of Providence influenced you at one of their schools, or in one of their other ministries? What kind of relationship did you have with one of your teachers? Please share your thoughts and reflections.

January: How time flies

Say it isn't so.

Was it really 10 years ago this month that Phil McCord walked into the Church of the Immaculate Conception to ask Saint Mother Theodore Guerin to help him to find the courage to proceed with a cornea transplant?

Yes.

Was it really five years ago this month that the Congregation's Canonization Communications Committee met for the second time as it discussed ideas, priorities and strategies for informing various publics, as well as the media, about the anticipated announcement of canonization for Saint Mother Theodore Guerin?

Yes.

So, now you know that come October 15, the Sisters of Providence will celebrate the fifth anniversary of their foundress' canonization. Is it time for that already?

Yes.

So, keep checking on us. We'll give you a little monthly reminder about what was happening five years ago this year as the Sisters of Providence waited excitedly for the news to come from the Vatican, then celebrated as Saint Mother Theodore was canonized.