What's Happening

April 17, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers were among estimated millions of Americans who attended 1,400 Hands-Off Rallies throughout the United States April 5, 2025, to express their concern about the direction that the Trump Administration is taking the country.

Sister Kathleen Nolan, OP, Director of the Congregation’s Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, emphasized the importance of attending the rallies. “We responded to a national request that people participate in this demonstration and let the Trump Administration know that people are not pleased with the number of people who have been fired from government positions and the lack of funding for services that people really depend on. The voice of the people is essential in our democratic process.”

Sister Kathleen estimated that about 30 to 35 Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers attended the rally at the courthouse in Adrian. Other Sisters who were unable to attend the rally in person gathered at St. Catherine Chapel at the Motherhouse to pray in solidarity with the people at the courthouse.

Among the Sisters at the rally in Adrian was Sister Esther Kennedy, OP. “When I came to join in the protest at 11:30 there was a feeling of eager excitement as to our coming together in one voice to say to the President, Elon Musk, and the Congress, ‘Hands off our democracy and our programs of care and concern.’ We came together as a collective of voices, as a community of care and deep concern for all those suffering from the cuts.”

Associate Patricia “Patty” Gillis took her grandson to the rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “My sign refers to the talk about making Canada the 51st state and the tariff war that has been started,” she said. Dressed as a knight in armor, her grandson carried a shield and a sign reading, “Defend our schools.”

Associate Jane Bertsch said she felt honored to attend the rally in Detroit, which drew several thousand people who marched from the Detroit Institute of Arts down Woodward Avenue. “There was a great sense of community, and it bolstered my belief that many of us are against what is currently going on in this administration,” she said.

Sisters and Associates also attended rallies in the Chicago area, in Orlando and Hollywood, Florida, and California and Washington. They spoke of the sense of unity they felt as they spoke up for those who have no voice. 

“There was a feeling of oneness with the group, a sense of unity of purpose,” Sister Peg Albert, OP, wrote of her experience at the rally in Hollywood, Florida. People held signs referring to a variety of issues, including “environmental concerns, immigration injustices, and social security interference,” she noted. “It was a social, political, and spiritual experience for me. When our nation is so divided, it was nice to have an experience of solidarity.”

Associate Nery Cummings also attended the Hollywood rally. “A lot of people from all walks of life are scared of losing their social security benefits,” she said. “We felt we needed to stand up, resist, and be the voice of the voiceless. … We cannot let fear and hate win.”

Several Sisters and Associates participated in rallies in the Chicago area. Sister Mary Priniski, OP, wrote of her experience there among 30,000 participants with Sisters Judy Rimbey, OP, and Jean Keeley, OP. “It truly was an experience of camaraderie – all ages, all abilities,” Sister Mary said. “There was a feeling that our voices needed to be heard by the current administration.”

Sisters who had prior engagements during the rallies made the effort to stand in solidarity with those who attended the Hands-Off Rallies. A group of Adrian Dominican Sisters attending a special assembly of the Leadership Conference for Women Religious (LCWR) Region VII took a group photo, holding protest signs. Sisters from many of the other congregations involved in the assembly also posed with the signs in solidarity.

Read more about the participation of sisters throughout the country – including Adrian Dominican Sisters – in this National Catholic Reporter article by Chris Herlinger. 

 

Caption for above feature photo: Participants in the Orlando, Florida, Hands-Off Rally make their voices heard.