What's Happening

August 25, 2022, New York, New York – Since October 2019, Adrian Dominican Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP, has given voice to the Dominican family on issues of concern as they are addressed at the United Nations. Sister Durstyne ministers as the Dominican Sisters Conference (DSC) representative at the United Nations.

“My goal is to assist Dominican women in bringing their voice to the UN on behalf of civil society,” Sister Durstyne told Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, in a recent “In Good Faith” podcast for A Nun’s Life. “We are trying to represent some of the issues that Dominicans worldwide are concerned about, such as climate change; such as nuclear weapons; such as homelessness; [and mining] extractions from indigenous areas, particularly in the Amazon.”

Sister Durstyne’s ministry includes serving on several working groups. She spoke at length about her involvement in the Working Group on Girls, which is bringing girls ages 14 to 18 from around the world together virtually to “engage in conversation and write statements” about issues of concern to them, such as gender violence, Sister Durstyne said. 

“Really, it’s an opportunity for girls not to be alone,” Sister Durstyne said. She gave the example of girls in Afghanistan, who, after the Taliban take-over in August 2021, face fewer opportunities and less freedom. “They’re not alone, because there are other girls in the world who are mindful of what’s happening to them, and they’re not going to let [the girls in Afghanistan] be silenced. … These young girls around the world will be advocating for all girls.”

Sister Durstyne’s interview is featured on the “In Good Faith” podcast’s page on the website of A Nun’s Life.

August 25, 2022, St. Louis, Missouri – As Sister Elise García, OP, completed her three-year leadership commitment to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), Executive Director Sister Carol Zinn, SSJ, praised her for the extraordinary spirit she brought to the organization during the challenging times of COVID-19 and other global crises. She described Sister Elise as a “manifestation of global sisterhood” with “an incredible capacity to create integrative partnerships, and clearly the Gospel message in the public square is what your life is about.”

The words of praise came during the LCWR’s general assembly, held August 9-12, 2022, in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the first time since the pandemic that the annual assembly was held in person.

Sister Elise, a General Councilor for the Adrian Dominican Sisters, was elected President-elect of the LCWR during the 2019 general assembly in Scottsdale, Arizona. She served as President-Elect, 2019-2020; President, 2020-2021; and Past President, 2021-2022. Before her election, she served on the LCWR National Board.

The LCWR is comprised of the elected leadership of Catholic Sisters, representing about 80% of women religious in the United States.

Sister Elise was elected to the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ General Council during its General Chapter in 2016. During the 2022 General Chapter held in late June, she was elected to serve as Prioress, succeeding Sister Patricia Siemen, OP. Sister Elise and the newly elected General Council – Sisters Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor, and Sisters Janice Brown, OP, Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, and Corinne Sanders, OP – will take office on October 8, 2022.

Read the full article about the 2022 LCWR general assembly, written by Soli Salgado and published by the National Catholic Reporter’s Global Sisters Report.