See for Yourself - As congregational secretary, I eagerly embraced the assignment to shepherd our response to the Apostolic Visitation. It was up to me to work on the questionnaires, to research the facts, and to gather the supporting documents. I saw it as a unique opportunity to tell the Vatican directly what a faithful congregation we Sylvania Franciscans are. I went at that with fervor and a positive attitude.

Because they have sisters gifted at planning and assessment, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi were able to make informed decisions and make the best of use of the assets they had.

You don’t have to see a picture of Holy Cross Sr. Verónica Fajardo to know what she looks like – you can hear the wide smile in her voice and in her ever-present laughter. At age 39, she has already had what most would consider a full life: Natives of Nicaragua, her family fled the war there and came to the United States when she was 8 years old. She grew up in Los Angeles and studied education at Loyola Marymount University, getting a master’s degree in special education, which she used to teach in public schools for six years before getting involved with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and teaching in Catholic schools for five years.

The Sisters of Divine Providence not only used decades of projections, reflection and planning to maximum advantage, but met the right buyer at the right time – a turn of events that could be termed happy coincidence or divine providence.

The view of women religious toward the Apostolic Visitation changed dramatically in the six years of the Vatican’s investigation, a panel of authors said Monday, but that happened because of their own spirit, not because of anything that occurred in Rome. Ten of the 11 authors and editors of Power of Sisterhood: Women Religious Tell the Story of the Apostolic Visitation, as well members of a group formed to gather data on the Visitation, gathered at Loyola University in Chicago on Monday. Many spoke of how their attitudes changed over the six years of the probe into religious life.

Pope Francis on Wednesday made a forceful and personal plea for the end of modern-day slavery, calling on governments, communities and individuals globally "not to become accomplices" to human trafficking and exploitation in their myriad forms. Women religious, of course, have been involved a long time with this issue.

Located near other religious communities, the sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery could place their frail elderly sisters with these organizations.

By 2024, the National Religious Retirement Office projects that men and women retired from active ministry will outnumber those being paid for their work by four to one. The NRRO provides resources and consultants to help religious communities create and implement strategies to care for their elderly members while remaining financially viable. Yet as religious communities work hard to adjust to the ongoing impact of declining numbers and an aging population, the difficulties they confront are sobering.
Read the entire series here.

When planning for the needs of retired community members, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary have the benefit of financial resources, a building that could be renovated to meet their needs and an organic connection with the motherhouse across the street in Immaculata, Penn.

"Winter blankets us with time to remember and tell the stories that sustain."