What's Happening

By Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP

July 23, 2025, Chicago – On a not-yet-so-sticky Tuesday afternoon in June, eight young women ranging in age from 18 to 43 began arriving in Westchester, Illinois, to meet with Dominican sisters for a service week advertised as “Preaching in Action, Igniting Hope.” 

Six vocation ministers representing various congregations of Dominican sisters welcomed them with hugs and smiles, a communal meal, prayer, and an overview of the week. Arriving for the most part as strangers, they were to become a close-knit community.
 
Service at a city farm, aptly named “Just Roots,” was the first event. Created on the grounds of St. James’ previous church building, the farm grows produce to be given to those who are hungry and shared with local food pantries. Staff could not have been more helpful or knowledgeable. 

The afternoon drew us to Aquinas Literacy Center, where the women shared a meal provided by Adrian Dominican Associate Alison Altmeyer, Director of the literacy center, and observe a class and one-to-one tutoring by young professionals who volunteer there. Two participants arranged donated furniture to make comfortable conversational settings for learners.
 
Thursday of the service week was Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas, finally learned two years later that they had been freed. A Sinsinawa Dominican Associate shared the significance of this new national holiday and spoke about some previously unknown Black saints and popes in Catholic history. A brief visit to the Du Sable Museum of African American History brought us to lunchtime and a brief tour of the museum. 

Our last service was at Brothers and Sisters of Immigrants, where the discerners prepared rooms for anticipated newcomers to the house. They also worked on other projects in the house that needed assistance. In between projects, volunteers had brief chances to play with the young children in the house.
 
By Friday, the week was coming to a close. Sister Connie Schoen, OP, a Dominican Sister of Peace, led a hearty, conversational exchange on restorative justice. This was followed by a fun afternoon trip to Navy Pier and back to Westchester for an outdoor Mass, presided by Father Jim Marchionda, OP, and a barbecue with sisters living and ministering in the area. 

The participants seemed to have had a wonderful time with each other and with the sites, where their service was both needed and welcomed. 

Detroit, July 16, 2025 – The election and early messages and actions of Pope Leo XIV brings a sense of hope to Adrian Dominican Sister Kathleen Nolan, OP, who recently retired as long-time Director of the Congregation’s Office of Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation. Her reflection, “The Pope, Hope, and Environmental Leadership,” is published in The Detroit Catholic.

In the reflection, Sister Kathleen notes many troubling signs of our times, including “too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.” 

But she also focuses on Pope Leo’s early advocacy for the environment – a stance that many people might have believed was uniquely of the late Pope Francis. “I’m hopeful that hearing the message from a new pope, and one from the U.S., will help Americans understand that care for God’s creation is fundamental to faith and morality,” Sister Kathleen writes.

Read her entire reflection here.

Caption for above feature photo: Adrian Dominican Sisters, in an informal watch party at the Dominican Life Center lobby in Adrian, await the announcement of the new pope, Leo XIV. —Adrian Dominican Sisters File Photo