About the Sisters News

Earth Day is Monday, April 22. Remember, this year’s theme is Planet Vs Plastic. Very appropriate to what we are focusing on as the Ohio Province. I hope you will pray this week for the opening of hearts and minds to the need to care better for our beautiful planet.

"Put the Guns Down"

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Ohio Province is among eight regional Catholic religious congregations that are sponsoring a billboard urging an end to gun violence. Our message of promoting peace and valuing human life aligns with the core principles of many faiths. By raising awareness and providing concrete steps for action, we're empowering each person to contribute to creating safer communities.

Sister Margaret McCabe, SNDdeN

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur ask for prayers for the repose of the soul of Sister Margaret McCabe, SNDdeN, who passed away on April 7, 2024.

Thank you for your prayers yesterday for the Catholics at the Capitol Day. I have attached the information the Catholics who represented us gave to our Ohio legislators. I hope you will pray this week for those legislators to take to heart the issues discussed and to open their hearts to the wisdom of the Spirit.

On April 9, the Catholic Conference of Ohio will host the annual Catholics at the Capitol. Catholics from around the state will gather in Columbus to pray and to meet with state senators and assembly members to present a Catholic take on the issues faced by our society today.

Congratulations to Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School for receiving the Dr. Karen M. Ristau Innovation Award presented by the National Catholic Educational Association for their Senior Capstone!

Today, we invite you to watch this 2024 Easter Reflection from Sister Judi Clemens, SNDdeN. "... God stories are truly Easter stories. Out of the ordinary, the Easter story appears. I'll bet you have God stories too. it's the ever-present death to live in our lives. 'Eastering' is God's invitation to find life even in the messiness of eath. ...'I am still with you. You laid your hand upon me.' It is WONDERFUL!" Happy Easter!

In this edition of our Lenten YLBG series on how our food choices affect our health and the health of the planet, we will focus on animal consumption, food waste, and the effects on the environment.

Water Snapshot #7

March 28, 2024

Our Lenten series on the Clean Water for Life Project concludes today. Our hope was to share the need, the work and the opportunities to support this important effort. We are literally working to save lives while making known God’s goodness.

Sister Rosemary Wack. SNDdeN

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur ask for prayers for the repose of the soul of Sister Rosemary Wack, SNDdeN, who passed away on March 24, 2024.

Spring is a metaphor for change

In this edition of our Lenten YLBG series on how our food choices affect our health and the health of the planet, we will focus on animal consumption, food waste, and the effects on the environment.

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Making Known God's Goodness

March 22, 2024 - In the wake of the unfathomable violence and suffering unfolding in the Holy Land, our hearts ache with profound sorrow. The egregious attack on October 7, 2023, has sparked relentless assaults, resulting in unimaginable loss and devastation. As Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, we cannot remain silent in the face of such tragedy. The denial of food, water, shelter and medicine – basic human necessities – has plunged the region into a cycle of despair and anguish while the flames of fury engulf innocent lives.

Prayer for a Ceasefire in Gaza and an opportunity to take action. Please join the Sisters of Providence for Prayer for Ceasefire in Gaza on March 21, 2024, at 7:00 pm (eastern). You can enter the Facebook Live feed or Vimeo Live Stream. The virtual feeds will only have sound once the service begins.

Children waiting to get water access in rural village in Africa

Water Snapshot #6

March 21, 2024

Our Lenten series on the Clean Water for Life project is wrapping up and this week we answer some common questions about the work to provide life-saving water resources in many remote areas of the world.

The 2024 Spring Cross Currents have been sent out and are coming to mailboxes near you! Read the online version here, or sign up to receive one in the mail.

In this edition of our Lenten YLBG series on how our food choices affect our health and the planet's health, we will focus on animal consumption and our health.

Water Snapshot #5

March 14, 2024

The Sisters go where the need is greatest. At many remote villages in Africa, our Sisters live, teach and minister in areas where electricity is a scarce commodity and clean drinking water is non-existent. People can live without electricity, but life without clean water is impossible. The water crisis in Africa is a critical public health concern.

Plastic in the ocean

We invite you to confess the sin of racism, privately and communally. As we move through this lenten season of conversion, we invite you to follow some of the "racial examination of conscience: written by Mark Schmidt, the director of the Respect of Life/Social Justice Office of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

In this edition of our Lenten YLBG series on how our food choices affect our health and the health of the planet, we will focus on animal agriculture and water use.

Catholic Sisters Week is celebrated nationwide in the United States, coordinated by the Communicators for Women Religious. From March 8th to the 14th, we dedicate this week to magnify the impact of women religious. At the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, we celebrate by sharing the stories of the Sisters' work and life in the US and throughout the world.

We invite you to watch the interview with Sister Mary Johnson, SNDdeN, Superior General of the Sisters de Notre Dame de Namur at the joint UISG-USG meeting (November 22-24, 2023), published by the UISG Internatioanal Union Superiors General in Rome.

Using solar panels, villagers in Kitenda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, can power the systems that filter and clean their water. The Clean Water for Life project helps fund these materials.

Water Snapshot #4

March 7, 2024

Our Lenten series on the Clean Water for Life project continues this week with a closer look at the three priorities for work being coordinated by the Sisters where they live and serve at remote locations in Africa.

You likely have heard of the situation facing Annunciation House, an organization of 5 migrant help centers in El Paso, Texas. Sister Rebecca Trujillo, SNDdeN, volunteers in one of these centers each week. They are currently under threat of shut down from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who is accusing the centers of Human Trafficking.

Statement on the prosecution of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas

The Ohio Province of The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur join the call of Bishop Mark Seitz in expressing our solidarity with Annunciation House in El Paso Texas, which is the target of prosecution by Texas State Attorney General, Ken Paxton. The US immigration system has been insufficient for decades and the US-Mexico border is chaotic at best. The US has failed to provide a safe system for those seeking asylum.