What's Happening

April 20, 2017, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Congregation, has been elected as one of two U.S. delegates to the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). She will begin a three-year term in November 2017.

Sister Pat was elected by the major superiors – leaders of Catholic Sisters’ congregations – of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to represent the 141 congregations that are members of the international organization. 

“It is a profound honor and humbling to have the opportunity to listen and learn from women who, with their people, are living through times of great oppression, poverty, and ecological devastation,” Sister Pat said. “As one of two U.S. delegates, I commit to bring their stories of mission and authentic gospel living to us and other congregations of women religious living in the United States.”

Sister Pat will be one of 12 delegates from North, Central, and South America who will work together in the Americas Constellation of the UISG. The delegates will work together to promote religious life and to “build bridges that will span distances, borders, and boundaries in order to create ways for members to be in communications, in community, and in community.” 

Major superiors of women’s congregations throughout the world gather each summer for an assembly in Rome. The UISG was founded in 1951 to “create an international forum, a way for women religious to be in dialogue with each other, with the Church authorities and with global organizations.”

February 13, 2017, Rome, Italy – The Adrian Dominican Sisters are grateful for the service of Sister Celestina Veloso Freitas, OP, who in August will be completing her term as the International Promoter of Justice and Peace for Dominican Sisters International (DSI).

As Sister Celestina finished out her term, DSI, an international movement of Dominican Sisters of the apostolic life, is seeking a new International Promoter of Justice and Peace. The term will begin on September 1, 2017, and conclude August 31, 2020. 

“We’re so grateful to Celestina, fondly known as ‘Tina’ to many of us, for her service as the Promoter of Justice and Peace for Dominican Sisters International,” said Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. “Tina worked diligently around the world to integrate concerns about the integrity of creation into the Order’s peace and justice agenda. She collaborated intentionally with Margaret Mayce, OP, our UN representative, and was tireless in coordinating our international response as Dominican Sisters to many issues, including the Paris UN Climate Conference in 2015. We wish Tina every blessing as she moves forward.”

The Promoter works to secure awareness among Dominican Sisters worldwide that the promotion of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation are constitutive elements of the Dominican vocation to preach the Gospel. She is also expected to collaborate closely with the Promoter for Peace and Justice of the Dominican Friars, the Order’s permanent delegate to the United Nations, and the Continental Promoters of Justice and Peace. 

Qualifications include work and life experience beyond one’s culture of origin; knowledge and practice of Catholic social teaching; and excellent oral and written communication skills in at least two of the official languages of DSI. For a detailed description of the position and its requirements, contact Sister Therese Marie Clement, OP, International Coordinator, at [email protected].