National Vocation Awareness Week 2021

We are delighted to be celebrating National Vocation Awareness Week (NVAW) from November 7-13, 2021. It is an annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States dedicated to promote vocations to ordained ministry and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations. We would like to celebrate by sharing vocation prayers and videos for each day of the week. Please enjoy these videos for your personal prayer and/or ministry, and feel free to share these with family and friends. May our Provident God continue blessing our community with more Provident women!

Estamos encantadas de celebrar la Semana Nacional de  Vocaciones del 7 al 13 de noviembre de 2021. Es una celebración anual de una semana de duración de la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos dedicada a promover las vocaciones al ministerio ordenado y la vida consagrada a través de la oración y educación, y renovar nuestras oraciones y apoyo para aquellos que están considerando una de estas vocaciones particulares. Nos gustaría celebrar compartiendo con ustedes oraciones de vocaciones y videos para cada día de la semana. Disfruten de los videos para su oración personal y / o ministerio. Por favor, compartan estos recursos con familiares y amigos.¡Que nuestro Dios Providente continúe bendiciendo a nuestra comunidad con más mujeres Providentes!

Author: 
Sisters of Divine Providence

Action Alert: Urge Congress to Protect the Persecuted

Justice for Immigrants | Stuart Center

Urge Congress to Protect the Persecuted

“[I]t is the historic policy of the United States to respond to the urgent needs of persons subject to persecution in their homelands. . . . Congress further declares that it is the policy of the United States to encourage all nations to provide assistance and resettlement opportunities to refugees to the fullest extent possible.”

These opening lines of the Refugee Act of 1980—the law creating the statutory authority for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)—communicates the importance of responding to the needs of those forced to flee their homes because they are persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Carrying out the Gospel’s mandate to care for the “least of these” (Mt. 25:31-46), the Catholic Church has served refugees in the United States since well before USRAP’s creation. Learn more about USRAP and the Catholic Church.

Today, no refugees are being resettled through USRAP. This ban impacts thousands of refugees who had already been fully processed, undergone extensive security checks, and approved for refugee status by the federal government while outside of the United States. This includes many persecuted Christians, as well as Afghans who had been approved for special immigrant visas because of the assistance they provided to the U.S. mission and U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan. 

The indefinite suspension of USRAP is the result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20. The order requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit a report by April 20, 2025, regarding whether refugee resettlement is in the national interest. However, the order leaves the decision about whether to resume refugee resettlement to the President alone, without any timeline stated for that decision. 

On January 24, the State Department issued suspension notices to domestic resettlement agencies, including the USCCB, impacting their ability to carry out services under the Reception and Placement (R&P) Program. The R&P Program provides crucial assistance to refugees and Afghan special immigrant visa holders during their first three months in the United States to support their successful integration and help them to achieve self-sufficiency as quickly as possible. Services provided through the R&P Program include help finding initial housing, securing employment, enrolling children in school, scheduling medical appointments, and English language classes. 

The chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, addressed the suspension of USRAP on January 22, stating: “Indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States.”

Ask your members of Congress to lift up their voice in support of upholding our nation’s bipartisan legacy of refugee resettlement. 

 

Send this Message to Congress

Support Refugee Resettlement to Protect the Persecuted

As a Catholic and your constituent, I urge you to engage with the Administration to resume the resettlement of refugees and Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) holders. 

Being a place of refuge for those fleeing oppression, including Christians and other people persecuted for their faith, is fundamentally American. The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has safely and effectively fostered this, with strong bipartisan support, for almost 45 years. 

The President’s recent executive order providing for the indefinite suspension of refugee admissions leaves thousands of thoroughly vetted people, who in some cases have waited years to experience freedom, in a state of grave uncertainty. Stop-work orders issued to domestic resettlement agencies also threaten the support promised to recently arrived refugees and SIV holders, undermining their prospects of self-sufficiency. 

Protection of people fleeing persecution and those who risked their lives to support our country is not only in the national interest but a moral responsibility. Please urge the Administration to immediately resume refugee resettlement.  

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/wPjD-TUqjpvmeP6Qqfe8TQ

Author: 
Sisters of Divine Providence

Sister Honored As Distinguished Faculty Member

On March 1, 2025, Sister Jeanne Morris, CDP, was honored by the Saint Catherine of Siena School community in Norwood, Massachusetts. Sister Jeanne teaches Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science to the middle-school students. 

Sister Jeanne spoke about seeing her teaching of middle school students as a "Creation Story of a Provident God presently living and acting in our everyday life." At Saint Catherine of Siena, she involves herself with the Student Council and the planning of extracurricular activities from science fairs to school dances to fun day BBQ. “My main purpose as an educator is the students who pass through my door each day. It is with loving care and hope for them that they become the best possible person living in the faith and knowing that God, and in my case, a Provident God, loves them unconditionally. I think that is the underlying core of what I do. Imperfect as it may be at times, I trust in a Provident God who will bring it to fruition," said Sister Jeanne.

Sister Jeanne has always been an educator, including coaching competitive soccer, teaching math, science, and religion, as well as serving others in administration.

Author: 
Sisters of Divine Providence

Sisters, University Host Ribbon Cutting for Ketteler Center for Peace, Justice, and Inclusion

PITTSBURGH, April 2025 -- The Ketteler Center for Peace, Justice, and Inclusion is a new partnership with La Roche University and its sponsors and founders the Sisters of Divine Providence.

Inspired by the legacy of Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (1811-1877), founder of the Sisters of Divine Providence, the Center is dedicated to upholding the dignity of every person, defending human rights and working toward a vision of a more just and equitable society. Rooted in the Christian gospels and Catholic Social Teaching, the Center aims to promote solidarity, empower communities and create pathways for social change—both on campus and in the wider community. This work is a direct extension of the foundational values of the Sisters of Divine Providence, whose legacy of social justice continues to guide the University’s mission.

For more information, visit laroche.edu
For additional photos, visit flickr.com

Author: 
La Roche University
Sisters of Divine Providence

100 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Advocacy

In January of this year, there was "A Response from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to These Times." CLICK HERE to read the response. At a May 13, 2025, Zoom meeting of LCWR leaders, justice promoters and communicators, LCWR invited every religious community of Sisters to 100 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Advocacy from May 29 (Ascension Thursday) to September 5 (Labor Day).

I am asking all of you who are able and would like to be united across the country with other religious communities to participate in this endeavor on our chosen day:

Saturday, July 12, 2025
(We chose this date, which is the day before Ketteler Day, July 13, in honor of our Founder who faced the struggles and issues of his day.)

Please feel free to do as much or as little of this as possible:  

PRAYER: Praying is the most important action. You are invited to make time to pray on your own with this prayer service (CLICK HERE), adapted from LCWR’s newest book, "Praying in These Emergent Times." We will also livestream this prayer service from Visitation Chapel at 2 p.m. so others may join us.

FASTING: You are invited, if able, to fast from not only food, but also harmful judgments, negativity, etc.  

ADVOCACY: You are invited, if able, to get involved in advocacy! If you would like to join me on Saturday, July 12, 2025, by writing/calling our local, state and federal representatives to address the needs of those less fortunate than us, please send your request to cstenger@cdpsisters.org.

Here are some talking points that you might wish to incorporate into your messages on a consistent basis:

  • We do not support cuts to Medicaid at either the state or federal level.
  • We do not support the increase in the budget allocation for detaining and deporting immigrants. 
  • We stand in support of the rights of immigrants living within US borders.
  • We oppose the dismantling of civil rights legislation and support financial allocations for programs that support equity.

House Representative: Chris Deluzio, Democratic: District 17 
1222 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
https://deluzio.house.gov
Phone: 202-225-2301

Senator David McCormick, Republican; PA 118th-119th District
702 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Website: https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/
Phone: 202-224-6324

Senator John Fetterman, Democratic; PA 118th-119th District 
Website: https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/
142 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-4254

Thanks for your efforts and participation however small or large! Let us give thanks for our communal efforts to make God’s Providence more visible in our world!

Sister Carol Stenger, CDP
Social Justice Director

Author: 
Sisters of Divine Providence