Liturgy Brings Anniversary Weekend
to a Joyful and Grateful Close
The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ 125th anniversary weekend closed on a sacred, joyful and grateful note as Sisters, Associates and guests assembled in Siena Heights University’s Lumen Ecclesiae Chapel for the closing Liturgy on May 17. May flowers and music by a brass ensemble, the Motherhouse campus’s Handbell Choir and the Chapel Choir added to the joyful atmosphere. Presiding over the Mass was the Very Reverend Earl Boyea, Bishop of Lansing.
In her greeting to the assembly, Sister Donna Markham, OP, Prioress of the Congregation, expressed her great joy in welcoming the assembly to the closing Liturgy on this “far-flung” plot of land amid the cornfields of Southeastern Michigan. She extended her welcome to a wide range of participants, from Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, co-workers, and residents and officials of Adrian, Michigan, to those who had come from afar: Dominican Sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of Remedies in Pampanga, the Philippines; Dominican Sisters from Notre Dame de Grâce in Norway; 20 Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates and dignitaries from the Dominican Republic; and members of the Dominican family from women’s congregations and provinces of Dominican Friars from the United States.
“I rejoice with you” as you celebrate 125 years of mission,” said the Very Reverend Thomas Kelly, OP, Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville, Kentucky. The Dominican archbishop was the guest homilist at the Liturgy. In his homily, he noted that all of us – Dominicans, women and men religious, and “all who are baptized” – are chosen by God to serve the Church and the world. The Church must be a “concrete sign” in this world of God’s reign, he said.
Archbishop Kelly noted the “great joy” and friendship among the Sisters, Associates and guests that he had witnessed during the weekend. “I see signs of growth in your community,” he said, explaining that, in an era marked by low numbers of religious, the membership of the Adrian Dominican Sisters is still close to 900. While the Dominican men in the United States haven’t seen those numbers, he pointed out that their vocations are increasing and predicted that the Adrian Dominican Sisters would see a similar increase in the numbers of vocations to their life.
Noting that, as a bishop, he could speak for the Church, Archbishop Kelly told the Adrian Dominican Sisters, “In the name of the Church, I say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for your witness and your service” for the past 125 years. He spoke of the love that members of the Congregation had shown for all of those years, and concluded, “You have a great, great path to continue walking, because love is of God.”
In his closing remarks, Bishop Boyea apologized to the sisters for anything that the bishops and priests might have said or done throughout the past 125 years to hurt the sisters or to make their ministry more difficult. He also spoke of his own personal gratitude for the many ways in which they heard served the Church – and especially the Diocese of Lansing – throughout their history. “I’m so grateful for the powerful witness,” he said.
The recessional hymn, Family of Dominic, expressed in the joyful words of Sister Mary Fran Fleischaker, OP the gratitude that many of the people in Lumen Ecclesiae Chapel that morning might have felt at being part of a worldwide religious family. Participants streamed out of the chapel and headed for either the Madden Hall dining room or Benincasa Dining Hall at Siena Heights University for a more informal closing of the celebration: a festive brunch.