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July 6, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – In a spirit of joy and gratitude, Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, relatives, and friends gathered to honor the witness and dedicated lives of 47 Sisters celebrating their Jubilees, their milestone anniversaries of religious life. The 2026 Jubilee celebration brought the Sisters to the Motherhouse for special activities June 25-27.

Sisters who celebrated these milestone anniversaries included three 80-year Jubilarians, two 75-year Jubilarians, 22 70-year (Double-Diamond) Jubilarians, 14 60-year (Diamond) Jubilarians, five 40-year (Ruby) Jubilarians, and one 25-year (Silver) Jubilarian. Together, the Jubilarians generously have given 2,995 years of religious life to God, God’s people, and the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

The celebration opened with a meeting of the Jubilarians with the General Council, followed by supper and a reception for the Jubilarians and their invited guests. 

The event took on a contemplative tone on June 26, when Jubilarians and other Adrian Dominican Sisters gathered for a Mass to celebrate nearly 160 deceased Sisters who would have celebrated their Jubilee this year. The name of each was read solemnly, while a handbell tolled after every 10 names that had been proclaimed. 

“We honor the memory of these women and remember their strong dedication to the Gospel,” Sister Carol Weber, OP, a 60-year Jubilarian, said in a reflection. “They went where God called them …. Their lives were steeped in prayer,” and their relationship with Jesus was “their very foundation.” 

Sister Carol also reflected on the group of women who followed Jesus and who came to his tomb early to anoint his body only to discover that he was alive. They announced Jesus’ resurrection to the apostles. “These women had a deep relationship with Jesus,” Sister Carol said. “They walked with him, they cried with him. They listened to him, and they loved him.

“I believe the women of the Gospel and our deceased Jubilarians leave us with a challenge,” Sister Carol said. “No matter our age or physical ability, we are still called to a deep relationship with Jesus, and to share that with everyone who crosses our path.”

The 47 living Jubilarians were celebrated during the Jubilee Mass on June 27. Father James Hug, SJ, presider, thanked the Jubilarians “for all the occasions, in good times and in hard times, in which you responded to God’s call to live in the light, to be the light, to show mercy and hope, conscious of those you have touched and blessed through the years, and of those who touched and blessed you.”

Sister Elise D. García, OP, Prioress of the Congregation, noted that the readings for the day focused on the call to abiding love. “They speak of the heart of the call, so vibrantly alive in each of you. Jesus makes that call clear to his disciples in this Gospel: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’”

Sister Elise described the “incredibly rich and diverse ways” in which that call had borne fruit in the lives of the Jubilarians: as educators at all levels, from elementary school to college, university, and seminary education, and in various aspects of ministry in hospitals and healthcare, parishes, dioceses, leadership, nonprofit organizations, justice advocacy, social work, accompaniment with people at the margins, and vocation and formation. The Jubilarians also served in nearly every state and in the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Taiwan, Kenya, and South Africa.

“You have lived your lives, entering into the communion of life and love that is God’s gift to all people,” Sister Elise said to the Jubilarians. “Through your loving ministry, you have invited countless children, women, men, and people of faith or no faith into the community of life and love.”

The Jubilarians demonstrated their continued commitment to God, God’s people, and the Congregation as they renewed their vows. The celebration continued after the Liturgy with a festive dinner for the Jubilarians and their invited guests. Even after the formal celebration, Jubilarians continued to celebrate with other Adrian Dominican Sisters, their invited guests, family members, and friends.
 

Caption for above feature photo: Awaiting the procession for the Jubilee Mass are, front row, from left, Sisters Durstyne Farnan, OP, Carol Weber, OP, and Theresa Mayrand, OP, all 60-year Jubilarians; and back row, from left, Sister Elise D. García, OP, Prioress of the Congregation, and Father James Hug, SJ, presider.

January 29, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Adrian Dominican Co-workers Jennifer Hunter and Sara Stoddard – Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively – represent a trend among lay workers in religious congregations who take on executive roles. 

Jennifer and Sara – and their counterparts in other congregations of women religious – are filling leadership positions that once belonged to the vowed Sisters themselves.

“It’s a real gift to have these incredible, dedicated women in these pivotal leadership roles in our congregation,” Prioress Elise D. García, OP, told Dan Stockman in an interview for Global Sisters Report. “We couldn’t do it without them.” She noted in the article that lay people are “filling positions we no longer have an abundance of candidates among sisters to fill.”

Like other lay leaders interviewed in the article, Sara said that the culture of the Sisters is different from that of corporations. While the Sisters are good stewards of their money, she noted, their focus is on doing what is right. 

Many of the lay leaders in the article spoke of the satisfaction they have found in working with women religious. “We’ve grown to love this work and the congregation we serve,” Jennifer told Global Sisters Report. “The sisters are part of our family.”

Read the entire article by Dan Stockman and a related article about Adrian Dominican Co-workers experiencing the Dominican heritage.

 

Caption for above feature photo: Jennifer Hunter, Chief Operating Officer; Sara Stoddard, Chief Financial Officer