What's Happening

August 18, 2022, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Sisters have signed an agreement to endow $500,000 for a scholarship to the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) at Xavier University in New Orleans. The Sister Jamie Phelps, OP, Endowed Scholarship will provide financial assistance to students enrolled in advance degree or continuing education programs offered by the IBCS.

An Adrian Dominican Sister, Sister Jamie was instrumental in the establishment of the IBCS, the only institute dedicated to the Catholic Church’s mission of forming disciples for more effective ministry in the Black Catholic community, the Church, and the community at large. She served from 2003 to 2011 as the Director of the IBCS and as the Katherine Drexel Professor of Systemic Theology at Xavier University.

A psychiatric social worker, community organizer, and parish pastoral associate, Sister Jamie has also written and lectured extensively on topics such as African American Catholics, the mission of the Church, religion and human rights, evangelization, religious life, and Christology.

In addition to honoring Sister Jamie, the endowment is “an act of reparation for [the Congregation’s] complicity in racism and to advance racial equality and transformative justice,” said Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP. 

For more information, read the Global Sisters’ Reports’ Monday Starter article by Chris Herlinger. The endowed scholarship is covered in the second article.