National Catholic Sisters Project

The Archdiocese of Chicago celebrate NCSW with SisterStories videos featuring seven Sisters from Chicago. Click here for more details

(NCSP)

As part of a pilot program, the Archdiocese of Chicago is in collaboration with the National Catholic Sisters Project (NCSP), an expansion of the National Catholic Sisters Week (NCSW) http://www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org/

Below you will find the description of the new initiative. An invitation was sent to Cardinal Blase Cupich. Sr. Joan McGlinchey, Vicar for Religious, responded to a request from the Cardinal to participate in this initiative which fits in well with the “Renew My Church” vision for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Sr. Lovina Francis Pammit, OSF, Coordinator of Religious Vocations Ministries in the Office for Religious, will be coordinating with NCSP, serving as liaison for communities and other groups.

Read the article: https://www.sisterstory.org/story/community-education/chicago-partner-national-catholic-sisters-project

UPDATES:
An interactive, online curriculum that will be produced over the next two years by the University of Incarnate Word (UIW) San Antonio will be made publically available through the National Catholic Sisters Project.  This curriculum will allow young women to learn more about sisters, which is the first step to considering a vocation. The first unit, “What do Sisters do?” is now available at: http://www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org/curriculum/en/#/?_k=xbheei

Read an article from the Global Sisters Report about NCSP: http://globalsistersreport.org/news/trends/national-catholic-sisters-week-expands-year-round-outreach-project-49286

Below are details of the initiative. Communications regarding NCSP updates will be communicated through the Office for Religious and CAVA (Chicago Archdiocesan Vocation Association). For a PDF copy, Click here.

     Greetings from the National Catholic Sisters Project!

I am grateful to you, our diocesan partners, for your willingness to participate in our Diocesan Outreach Project. I want to share the structure of the project so you can clearly understand how Diocesan Outreach intersects with the other strands of the project, and how together we hope to acquaint and engage new generations of women in better understanding religious life; to inspire them through the range of ministries and lifestyles embraced in its contemporary expression; to offer support and tools in exploring the call to religious life; and to employ appealing technologies in this work, while recognizing that the mystery of God’s call remains at the center of our efforts.

 

Our Mission:

The purpose of the National Catholic Sisters Project is to recognize and celebrate the profound impact Catholic sisters have had, and continue to have, on the U.S. church and the communities where sisters are present. As young women become acquainted with sisters and their lives of prayer, community and service, we hope they will be inspired to consider religious life as a compelling choice for themselves, and for the good of the world.

 

Below you will find a description of the four strands that are part of the National Catholic Sisters Project.

1. National Catholic Sisters Week (NCSW)

National Catholic Sisters Week was created in 2014 and has been very successful in connecting young women and Catholic sisters throughout the country through national and local events. NCSW is an official component of National Women History’s Month, which runs throughout March. The week is coordinated by Molly Hazelton, Site Director, and our team at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.  National Catholic Sisters Week is celebrated each year from March 8–14. Our project encourages and supports events that focus on the richness, diversity and contributions of women religious, and that bring young women and sisters together. During NCSW 2017 over 300 events occurred nationwide, including several online events. Learn more about National Catholic Sisters Week at www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org

2. Curriculum Development

 Our curriculum development team, led by Sister Walter Maher CCVI and Dr. Ann David, is located at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. This team is developing robust and adaptable materials for teachers and others working with your women in middle school, high school and college/university settings. They are creating a dynamic and evolving array of digital, online and easily adaptable curriculum materials for Catholic schools, parish religious education programs, and campus ministry settings. These materials will be available in both English and Spanish.  We plan to have introductory materials available by September 2017.

 3. Engaging Young Latina Women

 In the U.S., 38% of all Catholics and 54% of all Catholics under the age of 25 are Latino/a. The growth of Latino/a church presents both promise and challenges in designing strategies that will encourage young Latina women to consider religious life. There is a need to promote religious vocations in Spanish-speaking Catholic communities, and culturally sensitive materials for women need to be developed and readily available. This program will develop and disseminate culturally appropriate models designed to increase awareness and positive responses of Latina women to acquaint them with sisters and invite them to consider religious life. In doing so, we will work with members of the Association of Hispanic Women Religious in the U.S. and participate in preparation for V Encuentro in the fall of 2018. Currently this work is coordinated through Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

4. Diocesan Outreach Program

 This program is currently working to engage ten bishops and their dioceses to partner with us in order to enhance women’s awareness of religious life by sharing the work of our other three programs and exploring how they can inform and be informed by the work already happening at the diocesan level. Together with our diocesan partners, we will work to build awareness of the dynamic lives and contributions of women religious and to infuse vibrancy into print, digital and other media resources employed in vocation work. We also hope to bridge the generational and cultural chasms that exist between many religious and young women, and between the Church itself and young women through both NCSP and diocesan communication channels. This program is headed by Sister Ann Oestreich, IHM, National Coordinator of the National Catholic Sisters Project, at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

SisterStory – our Media Hub!

SisterStory is a storytelling project that serves all four strands, housed at St. Catherine University. It is an excellent resource for all media related to Catholic sisters. SisterStory houses extensive media on Catholic sisters, including an oral history project, blogs, podcasts, videos and much more! Several podcast series are produced by students at St. Catherine’s, including Here’s My Secret, SisterStory Presents, Interpreting Sisterhood, Curve Riders, and Be Inspired. If this concept is new to you, think of each podcast as a television show and SisterStory as a network. https://www.sisterstory.org/. We will share examples of each of these offerings with you through our Diocesan Partners newsletter.

 

How Can You Participate?     (More information and details will follow on each of these opportunities in upcoming editions of our Diocesan Partners newsletter)

  1. National Catholic Sisters Week
  • Access our toolkit to help plan a NCSW event in your diocese for 2018
  • Apply for a mini-grant to assist you in funding your event
  • Contact the NCSW team for assistance in planning your 2018 NCSW event
  • Share the prayers and intentions for the Prayers of the Faithful available for NCSW

 

  1. Diocesan Outreach Program
  • Link our websites (nationalcatholicsistersweek.org and                            https://www.sisterstory.org/)to the vocation page of your website.
  • Invite us to link your diocesan vocation website page to our sites!
  • Send us your vocation events for publication on our website and social media platforms
  • Read our Diocesan Partners Newsletter (published 5 times annually: May, August, November, January, and March) and send us ideas for useful content: ideas from your own experiences, what’s working for you, upcoming events in your diocese, etc.

 

  1. Curriculum Development
  • Coming soon! Once you receive our initial curriculum offerings, send us your feedback!
  • Distribute curriculum materials to Catholic schools, high schools, colleges and universities in your diocese. Invite feedback from educators and share it with us.

 

  1. Engaging Young Latina Women
  • More information coming soon!

 

  1. SisterStory
  • Write a guest blog for SisterStory
  • Share media content with SisterStory to be published on their various programs
  • Publicize SisterStory content through your diocesan website/communications         network
  • Enjoy all of the exciting media content SisterStory has to offer
  • Contact our staff for assistance and ideas

 

Diocesan Partners (5/4/2017)
     

1. Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA – Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory
Contact person: Sister Margaret McAnoy, IHM, Vicar for Religious

 

2. Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD – Archbishop William E. Lori
Contact person: Sister Sister Maria Luz Ortiz, MHSH, Archbishop’s Delegate for Religious

 

3. Archdiocese of Boston – Seán Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap
Contact person: Sister Marian Batho, CSJ, Delegate for Religious

 

4. Archdiocese of Chicago – Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich
Contact person: Sr. Lovina Francis Pammit, OSF, Coordinator of Religious Vocations Ministries

 

5. Diocese of Des Moines – Bishop Richard Pates
Contact person: Father Joe Pins, Vocation Director

 

6. Archdiocese of Milwaukee – Archbishop Jerome Listecki
Contact persons: Father Luke Strand, Vocations Director
Amy Grau, Director of Communications

 

7. Archdiocese of San Antonio – Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller
Contact person: Sr. Elizabeth Ann Vasquez, SSCJ, Office for Consecrated Life

 

8. Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis – Archbishop Bernard Hebda
Contact person: Sister Carolyn Puccio, CSJ, Delegate for Consecrated Life

   

 National Catholic Sisters Project Staff
    
 

Sister Andrea J. Lee, IHM Executive Director of NCSP, President of Alverno College
Sister Ann Oestreich, IHM National Catholic Sisters Project, National Coordinator,
Alverno College, 3400 South 43rd Street, P.O. Box 343922  Milwaukee, WI 53234-3922  
Phone: 414-382-6061     ann.oestreich@alverno.edu
Diocesan Outreach Program and Engaging Young Latina Women Program
Diocesan Outreach Staff:
Christina Capecchi – Lead Writer / Editorial Director
Anna Arens – Research Assistant
Molly Hazelton  Site Director, St. Catherine University
2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 
Phone: 651-690-6149   mdhazelton@stkate.edu
 National Catholic Sisters Week and SisterStory
NCSW and SisterStory Staff:
Garrett Tiedemann – Digital Media Strategist
Kjerstin Quinn – Program Assistant  
Christina Capecchi – Lead Writer/Media Advisor
Sister Walter Maher, CCVI
and Ann David, Ph.D.		  Site Directors, University of the Incarnate Word
4301 Broadway Street, San Antonio, TX 78209
 Curriculum Development
Curriculum Development Staff Members:  
Susan Hall Ph.D.  
Horacio Vela, Ph.D. – Scripture
Gilberto Hinojosa, Ph.D.

 

The National Catholic Sisters Project is funded by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.