Children from Mrs. Zandra Mitchell’s 1st grade class at Holy Name School, Birmingham, MI visited beautiful Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit on June 24 for a tour of the graceful Gothic style cathedral and grounds.  This is the 1st grade class that raised funds for Little Angels School in Ichama, Nigeria where HVM Sisters Calista and Helen serve as headmistress and teachers.  The Blessed Sacrament Cathedral tour was led by Sr. Rosemarie Abate who guided the children through the Cathedral building, answered their questions, and led them in song and prayer.  The children continued their visit through the Cathedral campus community with a short walk to the nearby Home Visitors of Mary convent on Boston Boulevard, the one-time home of J.L. Hudson.   Greetings and a short visit to the convent chapel were followed by lunch and cookies, art work with crayon and pencils, and an graduation ceremony fit to scale with appropriately pint-sized commemorative certificates.

 

Twenty four children from St. Matthew Church in Passo village outside of Gwagwalada, Nigeria, joined with children from St. Paul parish, Gwagwalada, to make their First Communion at mass celebrated at St. Paul on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015.  The children in Passo were taught weekly by HVM Sr. Monica Etokudo and candidate Chioma Nwoye in preparation for their first confession on Holy Saturday and First Communion on Easter Sunday.

More than 50 children total took their First Communion at St. Paul.

HVM Sr. Barbara Dakoske joined Srs. Monica and Chioma in Passo village for the final days of preparation for the sacraments.  Another 14 children in Passo were also baptized.

 

 

In a fitting punctuation to the celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life, the investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) was concluded on April 16, 2015, with the issuance of a final report and  joint press release.   The LCWR is a leadership group that represents 80% of nuns in the U.S.

Four LCWR sisters met with Pope Francis later the same day.

 

They released the following statement:

“On April 16, 2015, Sister Marcia, Allen, CSJ; Sister Carol Zinn, SSJ; Sister Joan Marie Steadman, CSC; and Sister Janet Mock, CSJ had a 50-minute meeting with Pope Francis while conducting their annual visit to various Vatican offices. At the conclusion of the meeting, the LCWR officials stated, “We were honored to have this opportunity for such an extensive conversation with Pope Francis that centered on Evangelii gaudium, the pope’s apostolic exhortation that has so deeply impacted our lives as women religious and our mission in the world. Our conversation allowed us to personally thank Pope Francis for providing leadership and a vision that has captivated our hearts and emboldened us as in our own mission and service to the church. We were also deeply heartened by Pope Francis’ expression of appreciation for the witness given by Catholic sisters through our lives and ministry and will bring that message back to our members.”

Press accounts of the conclusion of LCWR investigation can be seen at:

Vatican Announcement 4-16-2015 > click here.

 NPR coverage > click here. 

National Catholic Reporter coverage > click here. 

A previous Vatican investigation of U.S. women religious was concluded in December 2014 > click here.