What's Happening

September 28, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Frances Nadolny, OP, former Administrator and General Councilor of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, was named a member of the General Council on September 14, 2023, and will serve in that role through 2028. The General Council unanimously elected her to fill a vacancy left by General Councilor Janice Brown, OP, who resigned in August due to health issues. 
 
The Adrian Dominican Sister General Council is “the governmental unit that provides for and directs the life in mission of the Congregation,” according to the Congregation’s  Constitution and Statutes. Members of the General Council are generally elected by Sisters serving as Delegates at a General Chapter convened every six years. However, the Constitution further calls for the General Council to elect a successor to fill a vacancy left by a member before her term is completed.
 
Sister Frances took office on September 18, 2023. She was formally called forth into leadership by Prioress Elise D. García, OP, during a brief ritual at the beginning of Mass on Sunday, September 24, 2023. Sister Elise asked Sister Frances about her willingness to accept the responsibility of General Councilor to minister in collaboration with the rest of the General Council “by providing for and directing the life in mission of the Congregation and carrying forward the decisions and directions of General Chapter 2022.” Sister Frances accepted “willingly and happily.”
 
“We see in Fran a host of gifts and experience to bring to the table of leadership,” Sister Elise wrote in a September 14, 2023, letter to Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, announcing the election. “She is someone who can hit the ground running and assume most any responsibility in our collective portfolio with great skill, dedication, and insight.”
 
Fran said that her previous service as a General Councilor was a privilege. “I’m very honored that the Congregation would put its trust in me once again to be of service in this ministry,” she added.
 
Sister Frances comes to the General Council with broad experience in Congregational leadership. From 2008 to 2014, she served as Chapter Prioress (Provincial) of the Sisters in the Congregation’s Great Lakes Dominican Mission Chapter based in Detroit. For the next two years, she directed the Congregation’s Ministry Trust Office, which provides grants to organizations in which Sisters are involved. Sister Frances was elected Administrator and General Councilor during General Chapter 2016 to serve on the 2016-2022 General Council. 
 
The Archdiocese of Detroit also benefited from Sister Frances’ leadership and dedication. She served as Associate Superintendent and then Superintendent of
Schools for a total of 11 years. She also ministered for five years as the archdiocese’s Director of the Department of Education, overseeing several offices, including Schools, Catechetics, Family Life, Youth, and Young Adults. Sister Frances was principal twice: four years at St. Mary School in Royal Oak, Michigan, and five years at St. Thaddeus School in Chicago.
 
Serving on the 2022-2028 General Council with Sister Frances are Sister Elise; Sister Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Sisters Bibiana Colasito, OP, and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilors. They will serve in leadership through June 30, 2028.
 
 

CANCELED AS OF 10/17/23 - CONTACT WEBER CENTER FOR DETAILS. September 25, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – How do Scriptures call us to relate to people most needing compassion? Sister Maribeth Howell, OP, PhD, STD, addresses that question in a workshop, The Poor, the Widow, the Orphan, and the Stranger in your Land, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center and via live stream.

In the workshop, Sister Maribeth explores our call to relate to people in need by examining texts from the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly Exodus, Deuteronomy, and several books of the prophets; New Testament writings; and church teachings.

An Adrian Dominican Sister, Sister Maribeth is a Congregation’s Vocations Team member and a spiritual director. She taught at Aquinas Institute of Theology and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis and St. Mary Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio. She holds a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, and a PhD and Doctorate of Sacred Theology in Hebrew Scriptures from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

The cost is $45, including lunch, for those who are attending in person, and $35 for those participating via live stream. Registration is required. To register, visit www.webercenter.org and click “programs,” call 517-266-4000, or email [email protected]. Limited scholarships are available.

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. Traveling east on Siena Heights Drive, pass the Adrian Rea Literacy Center and turn left just before the solar panel-covered parking lot. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.