St. Louis Catholic Sisters are launching a media campaign across metropolitan St. Louis featuring billboards with the message “We Have Faith in You, St. Louis.” The campaign, which coincides with National Catholic Sisters Week, March 8-14, 2016, is aimed at instilling pride in the community and a desire to work for its betterment.
The Sisters, who for generations have taught and shaped the character of so many St. Louisans, know that St. Louis area residents are up to the task of being more loving, less violent and better neighbors.
Sister Mary Flick, CSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet and native St. Louisan, says, “As Catholic Sisters, we believe in a God who works through us in surprising ways. The people of St. Louis have generous hearts. Through our celebrations and our struggles, we continue to see the good in each other and what is possible together. We believe in a future full of hope.”
Randy Raley, director of mission relationship for the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said the Sisters also would like the community to know they are here, still vibrant, teaching, praying and having faith in them.
Director of communications for the Daughters of Charity Province of St. Louise, Belinda Davis, added, “More St. Louis area residents of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds have been served by Sisters than many realize. Catholic Sisters may no longer teach in every parish school or care for patients at every Catholic hospital, but they are alive, well and still relevant. Today’s Sisters minister to immigrants, the homeless, the voiceless and the trafficked. They are the 21st-century servants of Christ.”
National Catholic Sisters Week is an annual celebration of the nation’s Catholic women religious that encompasses events and stories to share the lives of Catholic Sisters. National Catholic Sisters Week is supported by a $3.3 million grant from the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation and is based at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn. It is held in conjunction with National Women’s History Month.
The St. Louis Catholic Sisters include: Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, Franciscan Sisters of Mary, Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sisters of Divine Providence, Sisters of Loretto, Sisters of Mercy of The Americas, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Society of the Sacred Heart and Ursuline Sisters of the Central Province. Visit the website at www.stlcatholicsisters.org.
Read reflections by Sisters Maureen Glavin, RSCJ, and Liz Osiek, RSCJ.
