DOMINICAN VIGIL: MARY OF MAGDALA

Join us for a prayer reflection on the eve of the Feast of our first preacher.

Sunday, July 21, 2024 via Zoom

7:30 pm ET, 6:30 pm CT, 5:30 pm MT, 4:30 pm PT

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89535600416?

Password: d7gfCXi4wPubSuY8763iPHVYll0ot2.1 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Dominican Sister of Peace Honored for Preaching

Sr. Mary Catherine Hilkert, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Peace and Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, is the latest recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theology from the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), its highest mark of achievement. The award was announced at the CTSA’s annual meeting in Baltimore, MD, on June 15.

CTSA President Kristin Heyer described the award as the Society’s “token of enduring gratitude for an unfolding legacy." In her citation she remarked that "for the past forty years, our honoree has leavened and led the theological community in major academic institutions, international venues, and our guild itself...Through an integration of theological rigor, pastoral expertise, and generous mentorship, she has modeled excellence and invited us into an expansive understanding of our shared vocation."

The Dominican Learning Center Receives almost $18,000 in Grants

Donor and Parish Partnerships Help Ministry Run Smoothly

The Dominican Learning Center (DLC), an adult education ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, is celebrating its latest gift from the Reinberger Foundation along with the recent grant from Dollar General Stores Literary Foundation, allowing the Center to cover everything from books to online learning to graduation costs. The contributions are a piece of the donation pie that goes towards helping adults learn English as a Second Language (ESL), providing educational help to obtain high school equivalency diplomas (GED), assisting with citizenship procedures, and offering adult basic education classes.

“We are extremely thankful for the latest grant of $8,700 from the Reinberger Foundation and the $9,000 grant from the Dollar General Foundation. We have many needs and these gifts, along with the support from our individual donors, are so important to our future. The funding equates to success stories for many people in central Ohio,” says Denise Hilliard, Dominican Learning Center Director. The DLC serves more than 600 learners with some receiving help at its German Village location, other learners’ tutoring happens at local libraries and still others are getting assistance at central Ohio parishes.

The DLC operates satellite ESL classes at eight parishes around the Diocese, including St. Peter Church, St. James the Less, St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Mary Magdalene, Bishop Ready, St. Cecilia, Christ the King, and St. Matthias.

Sr. Jenn Schaaf, OP to Join Dominican University New York

Sister Jenn Schaaf will join Dominican University New York as Vice President for Mission and Ministry as of September 1st. Since 2013 Sr. Jenn has served at Yale University as Assistant Roman Catholic Chaplain, St. Thomas More Chapel & Center.

Sr. Jenn shares, “as universities founded by religious communities see more lay leadership, a new professional field of mission integration has become an integral part of keeping the founding charism and mission of the educational institutions central. The V.P. for Mission and Ministry will help Dominican University to transition from the long-standing leadership of Sr. Mary Eileen and Sr. Kathleen into a new era through working with students, faculty, staff, and administration to continue the four pillars of Dominican life (prayer, study, community, and service) and the specific charism of the Blauvelt Dominicans’ care and compassion for marginalized communities and individuals. Drawing on the rich heritage of Dominican saints, scholars, and wisdom figures will also be key in continuing the mission of the university.”

Sr. Jenn also shares, “after many years in campus ministry at Yale, and previously at Ohio Dominican, I am excited to take on this role, which brings together my past experience of ministry, my research focus on charism formation in higher education, and my passion for the future of Dominican life. I know I am following in the footsteps of many beloved sisters who have served at Dominican University throughout the years and shaped it into the institution it is now - one that truly cares about the students and their success.”

We wish Sr. Jenn many blessings as she enters into her new ministry and is welcomed into the Dominican University New York family.

Sister Donna Markham, OP, Encourages Visits

and Messages to Dominican Sisters in Iraq

Sister Donna Markham, OP, traveled a great deal in the early summer, but she counts as most important her visit to the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Iraq – a community that over the years has had close ties with many of the congregations of Dominican Sisters in the United States.

Sister Donna first met the Sisters from Iraq during her years as Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters from 2004 to 2010. The Congregation sponsored several the younger Sisters to earn advanced degrees in the United States, allowing them to spend some time away from the war in their home country.

“The trip to Iraq was important for the Sisters and for me to see one another,” Sister Donna said. “I have been there several times before for meetings and presentations.” She had planned in October 2023 to accompany Sister Raghad Saeed, OP, back home after she earned her doctorate in physics at the Catholic University of America but, at that time, the trip would have been dangerous.

Sister Donna visited the Sisters in May to offer support as they continue to struggle. In 2014, they had fled their convents on the Nineveh Plain with the incursion of the terrorist group ISIS and had spent years internally displaced. During that time, they ministered to others displaced by ISIS. They established schools and clinics and provided spiritual support and presence. Even after returning home after the Nineveh Plain was secured, they faced the challenges of rebuilding their churches, convents, and places of ministry.

Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and Tricon Construction End Negotiations

Sinsinawa Dominicans, Inc. (SDI), and Tricon Construction will not be moving forward together in partnership to transfer ownership of any of the buildings at Sinsinawa Mound. Tricon initially explored an active senior residential project and more recently focused on the renovation and repurposing of the rotunda building to use Queen of the Rosary Chapel as an event center with amenities. “After much prayer, consultation, discussion, and discernment, we have decided to bring negotiations for our beloved buildings to a close,” said Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa Christina Heltsley, OP. “We are grateful to Tricon for exploring possible future uses of our buildings with us.”  

Tricon owner Ron Richard said, “For the past two years, we spent time and effort to find a viable way to repurpose a significant part of the Sinsinawa Mound buildings. In the end, there were too many obstacles that we could not overcome for us to make use of the facilities. It was a pleasure to work with SDI over the past two years, and we wish them well.”

Ultimately, the collaborative process with Tricon identified insurmountable financial and physical hurdles to a responsible repurposing of underutilized portions of the buildings. “With fewer Sisters living at Sinsinawa, we will continue divesting from excess facilities and reducing our carbon footprint in order to care for Earth and rightsize our living space,” said Sister Christina. The Congregation continues to maintain ownership and occupancy of the Academy Apartments which serves as housing for Sisters and seniors. The Congregation is in the process of renovating the Stone building built by their founder Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, the Convent building, and St. Clara Chapel for prayer space, office space, exhibit space, and a conference center in 2025.      

Although the business relationship has concluded, the SDI and Tricon relationship as good neighbors in our shared community will continue into the foreseeable future. 

Sister Joan Baustian, OP, Remembers

17 People Who Experienced Violent Deaths

An 18-year-old student who was just starting to turn his life around. A teenager who died by suicide. A woman killed in her driveway in front of her young children. A 3-year-old girl killed in her bedroom during a drive-by shooting. A teenage boy who died while playing Russian roulette with his friends.

These are some of the 17 people whose funerals Sister Joan Baustian, OP, attended during her 27 years of ministry in Detroit, beginning in 1989. All of them died through violence – mostly by gun violence, Sister Joan said. They came to Sister Joan’s mind last month as the United States marked June as Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Sister Joan first ministered in Detroit in the 1950s as a teacher, but the violence occurred during her second time of ministry in Detroit. During this time, she ministered primarily in the neighborhood of Rosary Parish. She ministered for a time at Covenant House, which has a home in 34 U.S. cities for youth at risk of homelessness or human trafficking. Her ministries also included teaching in an adult education program. 

Sister Joan retired from formal ministry in the mid-2000s but stayed in Detroit until 2016, serving as a community organizer, continuing to work with the people in the Rosary Church neighborhood – including people from the neighboring Baptist church. The centerpiece was the community garden, in which about eight families regularly received food, she said. “I was there to help the children, the families, the moms, and the grandmoms – to get people connected with what they needed,” she said.