Sr. Aisha Kavalakatt of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth started organizing women's empowerment groups in the village of Koshi Dekha, Nepal, in 2014. When the 7.8-magnitude earthquake April 25, 2015, leveled hundreds of villages and killed about 9,000 people in the small mountainous country, she pushed through blocked roads and returned to the village of 1,700 people five days later to help with recovery. She says she won't be needed soon, expecting Koshi Dekha to be self-sufficient by 2020.

"Can we discover, I wonder, before the laws of physics weigh in against us, what it means to belong to a single, Earth community and how to protect its viability and flourishing?"

African women want to heal their continent of its many afflictions, but are beset by the cultural and religious practices that harm them and force them into the role of healer, even when they need healing themselves.

See for Yourself - What if two tech inventions had babies? What new invention would result? Consider the following, and remember: you heard it here first.

"I wondered if I was the only one in the room who felt like I was at worship. ... I wondered if anyone else noticed that we — poets and audience — were the body of Christ in communion with the great Creator."

"We are the roses of the world, blooming gloriously amid small and big thorns."

Ferguson "led us through an incredibly exciting, painful, liberating, and tumultuous time with great love, enduring faith, inspiration, and a joyful spirit," said Sr. Patricia Siemen, the congregation's current prioress.

"Historical barriers of prejudice have been overcome. We have not given up in the face of disagreements. There have been personal changes in mentality, toward greater openness."

Following decades of repression, the Catholic Church in Cuba has been slowly rebuilding in the last 20 years. Through work by the sisters and other programs, the church extends its reach beyond parishes and strengthens ties with donors, often Cuban exiles in the U.S. and elsewhere. Care is taken to not draw too much attention from government officials lest there be repercussions from a government that discourages publicity on how the church or organizations step in where the state falls short.

"We have to welcome the stranger, we have to welcome the migrants and welcome the refugees who are fleeing from such harrowing conditions in their own lands and also to care for our victims of domestic violence and the modern-day slavery of human trafficking."