Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist is a Roman Catholic Religious Institute of Diocesan Right founded in 1997 by four members of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it has, as of the end of 2017, 138 members.[1]

History

In 1996 Pope John Paul II wrote Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, calling for a renewal of religious life.[2] Inspired by his words, Mother Mary Assumpta Long, former superior of the Nashville-based Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia,[3] and three other Sisters of the community, Sr. Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, Sr. Mary Samuel Handwerker and Sr. John Dominic Rasmussen, set off to "undertake a new initiative". On February 9, 1997 John Cardinal O'Connor established the new foundation as a "Public Association of Christ's Faithful" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. After their canonical establishment, the Sisters accepted an invitation by Bishop Carl Frederick Mengeling to teach in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing and began to administer the Spiritus Sanctus Academies located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Plymouth, Michigan.[4]

In 2010 the congregation announced that it had agreed to buy the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. to be used as a house of studies,[5][6] but withdrew from the purchase in 2011 to concentrate on building their new priory in the diocese of Austin, TX.

Apostolate

The community's apostolate is Catholic education. They currently run the Spiritus Sanctus Academies, private and independent K-8 Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, and also have small groups of sisters teaching in the Catholic dioceses of Sacramento, Austin, Phoenix, Peoria, Chicago, Columbus, The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, Galveston-Houston, and Rome at both the elementary and secondary levels. They also offer spiritual retreats and spread the Christian faith by giving talks at such places as colleges, universities, Catholic groups, and vocation fairs. The sisters also host a catechetical series on EWTN entitled "Truth in the Heart" for elementary school-age children.[7]

Spirituality

The Sisters "fully embrace the charism and spirituality of the Order of Preachers", the Dominican Order,[8]The Sisters have a devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration is an important part of their spirituality.[9] They also have a "total filial entrustment to Mary, the Mother of God".[10]

Current status

The Motherhouse in Ann Arbor today counts over 100 Sisters with an average age of 28. The average entering age is 21.[11] The Sisters are currently expanding geographically, with missions in California, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, and Rome, Italy, as their Motherhouse in Michigan is at its full capacity.[12] In October 2012 the Sisters moved the novitiate into St. Felix House in Huntington, Indiana, as a temporary measure whilst they seek to further develop the expansion and building of a new property in Austin, Texas. The sisters numbered over 120 in 2012. Plans to develop their priory in Loomis, California, were put on hold in early 2013, but in April 2013 they announced that as of the 2013-14 academic year they would have a small convent located in a section of Casa Santa Maria, the original building of the North American College in Rome.[13]

The Sisters were profiled twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2010.[14][15]

The Sisters are featured on the show American Bible Challenge during the season premiere on March 21, 2012.[16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A Guide to Religious Ministries For Catholic Men and Women New Rochelle, NY: Catholic News, 2017
  2. ↑ John Paul II, "Vita Consecrata" Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine..
  3. ↑ Ave Maria University Board of Regents Archived October 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Our History".
  5. ↑ Letter of Announcement
  6. ↑ William Wan (October 27, 2010). "Michigan Dominican sisters to buy John Paul II Cultural Center in D.C." Washington Post.
  7. ↑ "Truth In The Heart | EWTN Kids | Catholic Children Programming | Eternal Word Television Network, Global Catholic Network". www.ewtn.com. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  8. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Our Dominican Charism".
  9. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Eucharistic Adoration".
  10. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Marian Devotion".
  11. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Meet Our Sisters".
  12. ↑ Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, "Our National Expansion".
  13. ↑ "The Story Behind the Ann Arbor Dominican Sisters' Appearance on Oprah". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  14. ↑ "Keeping the Faith". The Oprah Winfrey Show. February 9, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Dominican Sisters of Mary appearing on Oprah Winfrey show Tuesday, for second time". AnnArbor.com (newspaper). November 22, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Dominican Sisters Witness Through 'American Bible Challenge'". ncregister.com. March 18, 2013.
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