There has been rich prayer opportunities. For study and reflection, Sr. Pat Connick presented 3 retreat sessions on "The Universe Story and Models of Living Community." There has been time for building community – at meals, playing games, enjoying the pool and beautiful grounds, and informal conversations.

 

The heart of the gathering lay in the ‘ Conversations in the Spirit’ – intentional, unhurried, and deeply honest sharing accompanied by compassionate listening. Around tables and in small circles, these sisters speak of their hopes for Dominican life, the challenges they face in their ministries, and the ways they are called to respond to the needs of their congregation and the world. There is room for laughter, for tears, and for the kind of listening that is itself a form of prayer.

 

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Dominican Sisters of Peace for their generous hospitality and warm welcome extended to each of us. We offer special thanks to Pat Connick, OP for sharing her passion with us.

 

Please pray for safe travels for these sisters as they leave St. Catharine, Kentucky on Wednesday and pray for the other cohort members who will be coming for the cohort retreat that begins on July 23^rd.

NADJPIC Annual Meeting: We Incarnate Preaching by Our Very Lives

by Jessica Eimer Bowen, Promoter of Justice for the Dominican Sisters~Grand Rapids

On Friday, June 12, the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of Saint Dominic of
Caldwell presented the 2026 Dominican Sisters Peace Award to Kathleen Ann O’Leary
in recognition of her dedicated and compassionate leadership in the cause of peace and
justice. She was honored for her public witness in support of undocumented individuals
and incarcerated persons, as well as their families, through her ministry at Delaney Hall
in Newark, New Jersey.

Two Dominican Sisters and a volunteer will join Dr. Margaret Lombe, a Springfield Dominican Associate, on her annual pilgrimage to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northwest Kenya, July 3-20, 2026.

 

Sister Anita Cleary, OP, a Springfield Dominican, Sister Helena Im, OP, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, Calif., and Kathryn Raistrick, an artist and long-time volunteer with the Dominican Sisters, will join Dr. Lombe at the Jesuit Relief Services (JRS) program at the camp.

 

JRS Kenya also operates two temporary protection houses for survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SVGB); they manage and support secondary schools in Kakuma and provide physical and psychosocial support to over 300,000 individuals.

When Sister Pat Ryan M.M. learned about the contaminated water that was harming the
people, animals, and vegetation in Puno, Peru, she had to do something.

“It’s rampant in Puno,” she said. “Gold mining and other minerals at the cost of people,
of the earth, the water.”

A corporation that had been operating tungsten mines in the area for decades had
suddenly closed up their operations and abandoned the mines without performing any
cleanup or mitigation on the toxic byproducts they left behind. Livestock and crops were
dying without explanation. People became sick, and some children were born deaf and
mute.

This was the result of the poisoning of the Condoraque River and the Choquene
Lagoon… sources of fresh water that the local Aymara people depended on for drinking
water, crop irrigation, and watering of livestock. The pollution became so bad that the
water turned unnatural colors.

“This is their home,” she said. “It’s been their home for centuries – love and relationship
with mother earth is very keen and very deep – and it’s being killed and affected by the
mining.”

During her 50 years in Peru, Sr. Pat has accompanied local indigenous groups as they
learn ways to peacefully and legally defend their rights under Peruvian and international
law, specifically defending those whose lives and livelihoods have been put at risk due
to mining practices violating ILO Convention No. 169, UN Declaration of Indigenous
Peoples’ Rights.

In 2007, Sr. Pat co-founded DHUMA (Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente – Human
Rights and Environment), which has won landmark rulings that indigenous communities
must be consulted before the government can permit mining companies access to their
lands.

“The work that we do,” Sr. Pat explained, “is education and helping people to know the
convention and what are their rights that are protected on an international level and
approved as part of the Peruvian constitution.”

In 2018, DHUMA and Sr. Pat won a Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award, sponsored by
the Institute for Policy Studies, for their work in Peru. In accepting the award, Sr. Pat
said, “Indigenous communities today are facing a different type of violence, so we have
had to adapt our work.  Today, it’s not armed groups that we have to stand up to, but
rather extractive industries and multi-national companies.”

 

DHUMA and its legal team have been succeeding in court, appeal after appeal. In May
2026, a Peruvian court issued a landmark ruling for the Indigenous Aymara people,
annulling mining concessions that overlap with territories of these peasant communities
and had been granted without conducting the legal consultation process. This not only
affects the people of northern Peru, but those in neighboring Bolivia, whose border is a
mere 140 meters away.

“Together we have been exploring the legal route in defense of their rights,” said Sr. Pat.
“It’s peaceful and legal.” Though they are exploring nonviolent methods of action, Sr.
Pat said there is constant pressure on the people and the system by the mining
companies – threats to their communities, their persons, and their environment.

“The risks are real,” she said, “and yet we are continuing.”

A commitment ceremony for the 2026 Springfield Dominican Associate class was held at Sacred Heart Convent Chapel on Sunday, May 3, 2026.  

 

During the homily of the Mass Father Bob Kelly, OP, chaplain for the Dominican Sisters, compared the new associates to the apostles listening to Jesus' farewell. 

 

“Through prayer, study, community and service, the Dominican Associate candidates have responded to Jesus’ invitation to continue your mission in the world,” said Father Bob. 

 

The new associates prepared for commitment by participating in nine monthly sessions of prayer and study about the history of the Order of Preachers and the Springfield Dominican congregation, about the theology of mission and ministry, Catholic Social Teaching, and liturgy and prayer. Each candidate was accompanied by a sponsor—a sister or an associate—who answered their questions and offered encouragement during their period of discernment before commitment.  

 

Dominican associates embrace the Dominican traditions of prayer, study, community, and ministry. They respond to God's call to share the Gospel by preaching it through the witness of their lives.  

 

Each associate was called forward by the associate program director, Sister M. Joan Sorge, OP. They stated publicly their commitment to “preach the Word and witness Gospel values,” and received an associate pin from Sister M. Paul McCaughey, OP, prioress general of the congregation. 

 

Sister M. Paul accepted the new associates’ commitment statements and thanked them for their dedication in preaching the word of God. 

 

“Our Associates are deeply a part of the Dominican family—and of our family as well.  Having them make their commitment in the presence of their loved ones binds us together even more deeply. What a glorious morning!” she said. 

For all events at the Siena Retreat Center, you may register by going to the website www.sienaretreatcenter.org, calling the registar at 262-898-2582 with a credit card number, or by mailing a check made out to “Siena Retreat Center.” The address is 5637 Erie St., Racine, WI 53402. Payment must be received to complete registration.

Contemplative Retreat for Women
Sunday, July 19 – Saturday, July 25
Cost: $890 (includes accommodations, meals, and spiritual guidance appointments)
Facilitators: Barb Cathey, Deborah DeManno, Jomarie Zielke, CSA, Patti Essig, Susan Seeby
This silent retreat for women will call together wisdom from many of the world’s spiritual resources to renew, enrich, and inspire us to be an awakened people in a world that needs our love and action. You are invited to a week of inner discovery and replenishment through morning reflection, evening rituals, one-on-one spiritual guidance, embodied prayer, gentle yoga, centering prayer, and abundant time for silent reflection and exploration of Siena’s beauty and resources. https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/retreats/contemplative-retreat/

Join us and deepen your relationship with God, self, and others.

Learn more about us here.

 

Are you ready this summer for a week of quiet time to explore the spiritual questions of your heart? Weber Retreat and Conference Center offers a directed retreat that just might meet your needs. You will have the time and space to walk our labyrinth and outdoor garden, pray and reflect, attend campus liturgies, and meet daily with a spiritual director of your choice. The Private Directed Retreat is offered from 2:00 PM Monday, July 6, 2026, through 1:00 PM Friday, July 10, 2026. Learn more.