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January 30, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – For Adrian Dominican Sisters who hailed from the Dominican Republic, who ministered there, or who cherish the culture, the liturgy at St. Catherine Chapel on January 19, 2023, was a source of great joy. It was a celebration – a few days early – of the Feast of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (Our Lady of High Grace), Patroness of the Dominican Republic.
Much of the devotion of the people of the Dominican Republic to Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia stems from a legendary painting of the Virgin of Altagracia, said to have been brought to what would become the Dominican Republic in 1502, shortly after the arrival of the Spanish. The image was housed in a shrine built in 1572. The present basilica was consecrated in 1971.
Sister Carol Ann Gross, OP, in a homily during the special liturgy, described the picture as a “Christmas icon” that depicts Mary watching over Jesus, who had just been born, with Joseph standing in the background.
“The picture of Altagracia can bee seen as often as the Dominican Republic flag,” said Sister Carol Ann, who ministered in the Dominican Republic for about 30 years. “Mary is a loving and powerful intercessor. From the very beginning she is focused on service to others.”
Sister Carol Ann compared the “sense of oneness, unity, and blessedness” that the people of the Dominican Republic feel toward Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia to the feelings that North Americans often experience when they see themselves as members of the universe. “Those of us who look to the stars and sense our oneness with the stars and all of creation can understand the faithful of the Dominican Republic, who celebrate the Virgin who unites all in holiness, love, and strength,” she said.
She noted the busloads of pilgrims who come to the basilica on the feast day. “They give thanks and they celebrate the oneness of being in her presence,” she said.
Sisters Margarita Ruiz, OP, and Teresita Ruiz, OP – blood sisters from the Dominican Republic – recalled their own experience as children growing up with a devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia. “The feast means uniting first of all with Mary, who is a revolutionary woman who keeps on inviting us to love all people and to love the Earth and to love everything created by God,” Sister Margarita said. “In that very same way, I am united with the people of our country, the Dominican Republic, who love her dearly.”
Sisters Margarita and Teresita said that, as children, they never visited the basilica on the feast day but went on different days, when it was less crowded. “Our Lady knew we loved her and we could go to her at any time,” Sister Teresita said. “She’s the protector of our nation, of our country.”
Sister Teresita added that the flag of the Dominican Republic is the only one in the world that features the Bible in its shield. “It’s very meaningful,” she said. “The faith of our people is expressed through the flag as well.”
Sister Margarita added, “We unite with Mary and with the people and certainly with all who love Our Lady. We rejoice today just for Altagracia, our dear Lady.”
The Adrian Dominican Sisters have ministered in the Dominican Republic since 1945, when the Congregation established Colegio Santo Domingo, a school for girls, in the capital, then called Ciudad Trujillo. Currently, four Sisters native to the Dominican Republic serve there, in formation and spirituality and at Fe y Alegría Espíritu Santo School in Sección San José. In addition, more than 20 Associates live and minister in the Dominican Republic.
Feature photo: At the special altar in honor of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (Our Lady of High Grace), are, from left, Sisters Carol Coston, OP, Joyce LaVoy, OP, Annette Sinagra, OP, and Margarita Ruiz, OP (seated in front); Jill Maria Murdy, Director of Liturgical Ministries; Sisters Kelin Lee “Kitty” Bethea, OP, Patricia Harvat, OP (seated in front), Rosario Martin, OP, Teresita Ruiz, OP, Carol Ann Gross, OP, Helene Kloss, OP, Prioress Elise D. García, OP, Joyce Caulfield, OP, and Suzanne Schreiber, OP; and Father James Hug, SJ.
January 25, 2023, Baltimore, Maryland – The recent Race and Power Summit held in Baltimore, Maryland, was all about reclaiming the voices of U.S. citizens, “giving folks tools to live out their values – values that are clearly related to the beloved community and to changing our society.”
Those were the words of Sister Cheryl Liske, OP, a community organizer in ministry with Gamaliel as its National Training Director. Founded in 1986, Gamaliel is a faith-based organizing network, with 44 affiliates and seven state offices, working to “empower ordinary people to effectively participate in the political, environmental, social, and economic decisions affecting their lives,” according to its mission statement.
Gamaliel’s Fourth Biennial Race and Power in America Summit, November 30 through December 3 in the Maritime Conference Center in Baltimore, drew participants from throughout the United States. Designed for leaders who “share Gamaliel’s commitment to racial equity and the building of powerful alliances,” the summit speakers and workshops focused on areas such as leadership development, integrated voter engagement, and racial equity work.
The conference also included the launch of Gamaliel’s Race and Power Institute, which aims to “create a bridge between race analysis and organizing work, providing ongoing professional development and resources for organizers and leaders,” according to the conference program book. The biennial summit is one of the Institute’s four components, along with racial equity training and resource development, race research and analysis, and a race and power resource library.
Kevin Hofmann, Director of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion for the Adrian Dominican Sisters, said the conference gave him the opportunity to make connections with people from around the country. “It was focused on the institutional aspect – the power that comes from racism and the different ways to interrupt that.”
He was impressed by the workshops he attended, particularly one that dealt with the mass incarceration, especially the disproportionately high number of people of color who are imprisoned. He was also impressed by the acceptance of Summit participants – people of color as well as white people – of the role of white supremacy in racism in the United States. “It isn’t a commonly accepted theory, but at the conference it was embraced as fact,” Kevin said.
Kevin believes he will benefit from the Race and Power Institute, which could provide speakers to help him in presentations to the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers on issues such as unconscious bias.
Sister Janice Brown, OP, one of two members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council who attended the summit said she was “struck by the energy level that was there and the variety of individuals from different backgrounds.” She was also impressed by a statement that people of color “need not only to be invited to the table but to create the agenda as well – to say what is important and work on it as an equal moving forward.” She sees this approach as “a deeper awakening of what needs to happen in order to really create justice.”
Like Kevin, Sister Janice was also moved by the workshop on incarceration. “How did we get to the point that we have so many people who are incarcerated rather than creating environments that help build a person’s potential?” she asked. “It’s an unusual way to think about rehabilitation, but reconciliation as well. People make mistakes, but where do we go from there?”
Sister Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, a member of the General Council who is from the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s Our Lady of Remedies Mission Chapter in the Philippines said the event was an eye-opener “It has given flesh to my theories on diversity, inculturation, women, and the other social issues.”
Before coming to the United States, Sister Bless had never experienced first-hand the issue of people of facing discrimination because of their skin color. “In the Philippines, regionalism is very strong,” she explained. The language people use points to an attitude of regionalism,” of believing people of one region are superior to others, she said.
Sister Bless focused on workshops dealing with immigration, noting that she had heard from undocumented Filipino immigrants to the United States who are afraid to be deported” During the workshop, other undocumented immigrants spoke about their own experiences and on the “consequences of being an undocumented immigrant,” such as lack of work benefits and substandard living conditions.
The conference gave Sister Bless a sense of power. “That experience in the conference is like pushing me to be who I am as a Filipina – the power to be who you are because it will not be good if you allow other powers to shape you outside of your own cultural heritage,” she said. She also came to see other participants in the conference as “a group which is trying to serve humanity regardless of color, regardless of religion, regardless of culture.”
Sister Cheryl spoke of the focus of the Gamaliel organization. It has always worked to help people reclaim their voices in the public sphere, she said. But an emphasis on racial equity began in 2015 when leaders of Gamaliel studied its own network and found “manifestations of white privilege and racism that was in the network itself,” she said. Out of that analysis, Gamaliel decided to work toward racial equity.
Sister Cheryl said the Race and Power Institute applies Gamaliel’s community organizing training to racial equity work. “It’s one thing to do book studies on racial equity,” she said. “It’s quite another to do sacred conversations with groups of people in order to move them to action … When people organize their resources to go for racial equity, results occur.” She gave the example of Eden Seminary in St. Louis, which has a branch of the Race and Power Institute. “They’re training their seminarians in this whole racial analysis,” she said. “Everything is about equity.”
But Sister Cheryl pointed to an even deeper change in Gamaliel. “In the past and in the different organizing networks in the U.S., we were looking at transactional change – trying to find the win in an issue,” she explained. Now, she said, Gamaliel is focusing on transformational change also. “It’s not just about social issues, but it’s about the hearts and minds of people,” she said. “Social justice seems to want to change what’s happening in society. Transformational justice wants to change our society into a better place. That’s the essence of the Gospel message – changing hearts.”