On his six-day swing through three East Coast cities this week, Pope Francis will be warmly welcomed by diplomats, members of Congress and princes of the church. The young and the marginalized so close to his heart and mind — homeless men and women, prisoners, students — are also prominent on his itinerary. But because the pope's stay will be short, he may not have the opportunity to spend significant time with many of the religious women whose grit and compassion power many local ministries and institutions in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York. We talked to six sisters who we suggest he would do well to meet with.

Nuns on the Bus Blog - As I write this, we are on the bus on our way to Washington, having made our last stop in Wheeling, West Virginia. During the silent time of our prayer this morning, the faces of people we have met along the way kept rolling through my mind. Next this Scripture passage was read: “Look! I am making something new. Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is. 43:19-21) How appropriate!

The 2015 Nuns on the Bus tour concluded here Tuesday with a rally on the National Mall hours ahead of Pope Francis' arrival in the United States. On their 13-day tour, the sisters hosted 33 events in in eight states to "connect with real people — and to hear about the injustices they encounter daily," according to the Nuns on the Bus website. The theme of the fourth annual trip: "Bridge the Divides, Transform Politics." "If we can't face and bridge the divides here, where else can we expect it to be done?" asked Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, leader of the bus tour and executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby.

A nun’s unforgettable train journey: Sr. Linsa Paul is a councilor of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation’s St. Paul Province, Delhi. She was in one of the two trains that derailed near Harda in central India the night of Aug. 4, killing 30 people. The trains were passing from opposite directions but derailed within moments at the same spot, where flash floods had washed away supports from underneath the tracks.

GSR Today - If marginalized people aren’t allowed to bring up the sins committed against them, what is the proposed alternative? That they wait in silence until things change on their own? Until the oppressive  powers  that be transform themselves? Call me silly, but that sounds less than promising.

"Religious life is identified as a prophetic lifeform in the official documents of the Catholic church. Prophets do not predict the future, but rather uncover the present as it truly is."

Voices of Courage is the first collection of academic studies about African sisters. Author Sr. Jane Wakahiu hopes it will spark conversations, introspection and further study to help African sisters tell their stories themselves. As many congregations in Africa are now celebrating 50 or 100 years, it’s important to record and celebrate the stories of these first sisters in Africa, both Europeans and Africans.

Nuns on the Bus Blog - Feeding the people of Central Ohio; sisters stop at massive food bank that serves 130,000 meals per day via more than 600 partner organizations in 20 counties.

"Stories are medicine, small doses of what matters, and it is the telling that soothes our pain and shares our joy."