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October 8, 2025, Tucson, Arizona – Sisters Charlotte Anne Swift, OP, and Lois Paha, OP, were honored on September 12, 2025, by the Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, during the Cornerstone Gala of the diocese’s Catholic Foundation for their many years of service to the people of the diocese. 

“From the beginning, it was overwhelming,” said Sister Charlotte Anne, who ministered a total of 56 years in the Diocese of Tucson – six in her early years of ministry and 50 years when she returned to the diocese. “I don’t feel worthy of it myself,” she said. “We come here and we do our jobs. I kept telling myself that it was all the Sisters over the years” who were being honored. In her remarks, Sister Charlotte Anne noted that 150 Adrian Dominican Sisters have served in the Diocese of Tucson since 1910.

While they were humble in accepting the recognition, both Sisters appreciated the gala organized by the Foundation and the support they received from the 835 people who attended – including Adrian Dominican Sisters Mary Jean Williams, OP, Kathleen “Katie” McGrail, OP, Peg Albert, OP, and Corinne Sanders, OP. “It was a most memorable evening.” 

Sister Charlotte Anne’s ministry – on the day of her first profession of vows – was as a teacher at Loretto School in Douglas, Arizona. After serving in California and other parts of Arizona, she returned to the diocese in 1975 to serve as the Principal of Santa Cruz School in Tucson until 1986, and for 15 years as Executive Director of a Project YES (Youth Enrichment and Support). 

Since then, Sister Charlotte Anne has served as administrative assistant to Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, continuing to serve him even after Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger became the Bishop of Tucson in 2017. Now that Bishop Weisenburger has been installed as the Archbishop of Detroit in March 2025, Bishop Kicanas oversees the Diocese of Tucson until a new bishop is appointed. “I asked for part-time” for Bishop Emeritus Kicanas, Sister Charlotte said, “but now it’s more than that because he’s no longer part-time.”   

Sister Lois began her remarks by being grateful for the Sisters who came before us. She came to minister in the Diocese of Tucson in 2005 to serve as the Director of Formation. “The main program was for the formation of permanent deacons and lay ecclesial ministers,” she said. When the current cohort graduates in June 2026, she said, the program will have trained 121 permanent deacons and 80 lay ministers. 

Sister Lois also works with the wives of the deacon candidates. “When I did my doctoral work, I created a curriculum for the formation of the deacons’ wives to walk and talk with them about what will change in their lives once their husbands said yes to the bishop – how they would be public figures,” she said.

Sister Lois came to the Diocese of Tucson with backgrounds in formation, liturgy, and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). By 2009, she said, she was named Director of Pastoral Services, Formation, and Liturgy. Among the highlights of her ministry in Tucson was hosting the Southwest Liturgical Conference Study Week in 2008 and 2020.

Both Sister Charlotte Anne and Sister Lois reflected on their benefits and learnings from their ministries in the diocese. “Coming back here, I felt I was coming home to the Hispanic community because it has been part of my early years in Douglas,” she said. “I appreciate the Hispanic culture and the way they live and the family orientation, and I have many good friends here,” she said. “It’s easy to feel part of this community.”

Sister Charlotte Anne also appreciates the connection she has with many of the people in the diocese. “I do some counseling and help in whatever way I can,” she said. “You’re with the people and you hear what’s going on with them and you do what you can.”

Sister Lois said she has also learned from her work with many of the cultures in the Diocese of Tucson. In her formation with prospective deacons and lay ecclesial ministers, “I’ve learned to listen to their stories first before pushing them further in terms of preparation for ministry. I’ve learned the differences their culture plays and how they learned their faith from their ancestors – their grandparents and the elders in their family.”  

Read more about Sisters Lois and Charlotte Anne here.

 

Caption for above feature photo: Attending the 2025 Cornerstone Gala hosted by the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Tucson are, from left, Denis Fitzgibbons, Catholic Foundation Board President; Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson; Sister Lois Paha, OP; Donal Drayne, Gala Chair; Sister Charlotte Anne Swift, OP; and Elizabeth Bollinger, Catholic Foundation Executive Director.

Photo Courtesy of the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Tucson

April 17, 2025, Chicago – Are you a single Catholic woman, ages 18 through the 40s, trying to determine God’s plan for your life? The Dominican Sisters of Adrian (Michigan), Mission San Jose (California), Peace (Ohio), Sinsinawa (Wisconsin), and Springfield (Illinois) invite you to explore God’s call this summer – while serving people in need in the Chicago area.

The Service Immersion Experience: Preaching in Action, Igniting Hope, is offered Tuesday, June 17, 2025, through Saturday, June 21, 2025, in Chicago. Join Dominican Sisters in service projects while you discern your future. Participants will experience the four pillars of Dominican life: study, prayer, community, and service.

For more information, contact Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, at [email protected] or 517-920-1395.