Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
In 2005, the Daughters of Charity, East Central Province, elected to join a growing worldwide movement known as Community Supported Agriculture. "Seton Harvest" has evovled to become a model of environment stewardship and food source for over 150 families in the Evansville area...find out more on page 7 of the May 2011 ASJ Newsletter
Today, Arizona has the largest percentage of Native Americans in the US. How does Arizona's anti-immigration legislation, SB 1070, affect them?...find out on page 7 in the November 2010 ASJ Newsletter
The selling of illegal armaments used to be the most lucrative illegal business in the United States, but it has been surpassed by human trafficking - human slavery!! This brings in more money than armaments or drugs!...learn more on pages 6-7 in the May 2010 ASJ Newsletter
Three centuries after his death, the story of St. Vincent de Paul is making international rounds at film festivals in Ireland, England and America—and that’s not all. CatholicTV will debut the film on Vincent’s feast day, Sept. 27, and will repeat it regularly during programming on saints. (See YouTube Trailer)
The documentary examines Vincent de Paul and his life and times in 17th century France...learn more
The Daughters and Vincentians open website for their advocacy efforts via their NGO status at the UN...visit the website
Sex trafficking in Macon, Georgia?...full story
Learn more about an exhibit highlighting the rich history and contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States on the Women and Spirit website and the LCWR website.
This past May the Senior Program at Guardian Angel Settlement Association, under the direction of Sr. Kathy Overmann, DC, took 40 seniors on a weeklong trip through South Dakota. Courtesy of funding from the Daughters of Charity, low-income seniors were able to visit the Badlands, learn about the Native Americans who inhabited the Dakotas, and even visit Mt. Rushmore! The seniors loved seeing and taking pictures of wild turkeys, elk, and mountain goats in the Badlands as well as visiting the buffalo and feeding donkeys at Custer State Park. They were also able to tour a gold mine in the Deadwoods that now is used by physicists to learn about energy, and then see where Wild Bill was shot.
The seniors really enjoyed learning much about Native American history. They toured the Journey Museum, an entity dedicated to the Native American experience. Later, the seniors were impressed by traditional Native American dances at Crazy Horse Memorial. They were also able to see the set where the movie Dances with Wolves was filmed, and were entertained by country western performers at their meal that evening!
Another highlight of the trip was visiting Mt. Rushmore. The seniors loved seeing the monument picturing Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, walking the picturesque trails that surround the area, and learning more history through films that were shown there. They also visited Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Jewelry, took a tour of its factory where gold and silver are mined and then made into one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. Each senior purchased a piece of jewelry to remember the trip.
Many thanks to the Daughters of Charity for making this trip possible and to Sr. Kathy for her dedication to the program!
To learn more about Guardian Angel Settlement Association (GASA) visit the website.
Sr. Joan Pytlik received the Betty A. Lowe, MD Award presented by the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation at an awards ceremony on April 8, 2011 in Little Rock, AR. Sr. Joan was honored as an individual who has made a significant contribution to the health and well-being of Arkansas’ children. Congratulations, Sr. Joan!...watch the Arkansas Children's Hospital video about Sr. Joan
You can read about Sister Sharon Horace's experience in Kenya through her blog. Sr. Sharon is a Daugter of Charity from the St. Louis Province.
The John Paul II School, built in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, is a joint project of the Daughters of Charity and the Rotary Club – “Together We Will Help Them”. The project offers a new school to 800 students...see photos of dedication
The Daughters of Charity are one of the founding communities of Marian Middle School, a Catholic school for fifth- through eight-grade girls in South St. Louis. You can read the full article in the St. Louis Review
Most certainly, you have been following with both hope and anxiety the events of the last several weeks which have shaken certain Arab countries. The Daughters of Charity are present in several of them: Iran, Syria, Egypt (Province of the Near East), Libya (Province of Pamplona), Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania (Province of North Africa), and Morocco (Provinces of Granada and Seville). The changes in the political regime that have taken place in Tunisia and Egypt seem to be positive, yet a great deal of uncertainty remains. The Sisters of the nine local Communities in Egypt and the two in Tunisia have not fully resumed their activities and they feel some distress because they are not able to serve and care for the poor in their usual manner, but they have been touched by the testimonies of solidarity they have received and they feel supported by your prayers during this time of fear and unrest.
In Libya, the situation has given way to chaos. The five Sisters, who live in the local Community in Tripoli, arrived safely in Madrid Wednesday, February 23 from Libya. Three are Spanish, two from the Philippines. They serve the migrants who come principally from Eritrea and other sub-Saharan countries and are held in camps. They also serve poor persons who are sick as well as students in a school reserved for the children of the numerous workers who have come to Libya from the Philippines. Let us remain united in prayer for peace, with the hope that our Sisters may return to Libya soon and resume their service there.
The Sisters in Haiti, united with the entire population, commemorated the first anniversary of the earthquake of January 12, 2010 in sadness and hope. The children of the John Paul II School (very close to the Provincial House), their teachers, parents and Sister Brigette’s family participated in a memorial service. Classes at the school are now being held in tents, but thanks to the determination of the Sisters and the generosity of many, the school is being reconstructed. This is a sign of hope for everyone in the neighborhood. The messages received from the Sisters are very moving as they recount their experiences serving the victims of the earthquake and those stricken with cholera.
The floods and mud slides have affected principally the Serrana region in the Province of Rio de Janeiro. The house in Firburgo is of great concern. It is a large establishment with several buildings for the elderly and for handicapped adults, 250 people who are very dependent. Many of the employees cannot come to work. The Sisters of the Province who would like to come to Firburgo to help have not been able to because of impassable roads.
Tunisia is one of the three countries which, along with Algeria and Mauritania, compose the Province of North Africa and was always very dear to the heart of St. Vincent de Paul. The situation there remains very chaotic. There was mounting tension in Sfax and in the capital in the hours leading up to the departure of the President and clashes and disorder have continued. The Sisters in Algeria and Mauritania have encountered great difficulties as well.
Please pray for the people of all these areas and for the Sisters who are trying to assist them in their great suffering.
After consultation with all of the Sisters in the uniting Provinces (580 Sisters), Sister Louise Gallahue, presently the Visitatrix, i.e., Leader, of the Albany Province, has been designated by the Superioress General, Sister Evelyne Franc, and the General Council to be the first Visitatrix of the New Province, the Province of Saint Louise...read the full News Realease
Sr. Mary Ann Szydlowski will be returning to the St. Louis Province in mid-February after serving three years on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is almost summer now in the Cook Islands and at the Nukutere College (High School) they held their Year End Awards Ceremony. At the ceremony the Principal, Donna Nahu, took the 
opportunity to thank Sr. Mary Ann and bid her farewell. Both Sr. Mary Ann and Sr. Margaret O’Dwyer were given beautiful bouquets. After the ceremony they had their picture taken with Joyana Meyer who was recently named Miss South Pacific.
Sr. Mary Ann, Joyana and Sr. Margaret
The Heroine Award was given by the Three Rivers Community Foundation to Rendu Services, Inc. on Saturday, November 13, 2010, "for your work to promote Social Change in Fayette County". The award states, "The Sisters of Rendu Services perpetuate what Rosalie Rendu did in Paris in the 18th century as they work for the poor and marginalized people of Fayette County. They serve the community through their food bank, parish nursing, housing authority program and mobile health van”.
Sister Rosalie Rendu, a French Daughter of Charity born in 1787, dedicated her life to God, whom she served and saw in the poor of Paris. For more than 50 years Sister Rosalie worked untiringly through poverty, revolution, crime, plague and famine to aid men, women, and children to better their lives, and encouraging the wealthy to come to the aid of their less fortunate brothers and sisters.
Rendu Services, Inc. was just an idea a little over 10 years ago. The Daughters in the Northeast Province were asked in l998 to dream of a project they would like to develop if funding and personnel were possible. These dreams were then presented to the sisters at a provincial meeting and Fayette County in Southwestern Pennsylvania was chosen as the location for the Dream Project because it is one of the poorest counties in the Northeast. After a thorough needs assessment was completed it was determined that one of the most pressing issues was the need to serve people in the rural areas. One way this is accomplished is by means of a medical van staffed by nurses which goes to 17 locations each month, helping people with their medical needs. Since literacy also surfaced as a need, classes for adults were organized and after-school programs for youth were begun. One of the Sisters serves at the St. Vincent de Paul Store, helping those in need of food, clothing and assistance with utility bills. From the beginning the Sisters have delivered Meals on Wheels and presently help with three food pantries. They also serve on a number of boards and some serve as moderators of Ladies of Charity.
Sr. Karen Flaherty, of the St. Louis Province, joined four Daughters, one Sister of Charity of Nazareth and three Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in January of 2009 at Rendu Services, Inc. She says that the things that impressed her the most about the services of Rendu Services, Inc. are the scope of the works, from health to education, collaboration and direct service of clients who are scattered throughout Fayette County and working with two groups of Sisters of Charity. Sr. Karen works with an after-school program, tutors in a state prison, delivers Meals on Wheels, helps in a program that prepares and serves meals for the homeless, works with the food pantries and drives for an agency that provides transportation to the elderly.
* Picture shows Sr. Mary Fran Bassick, Executive Director of Rendu Services, receiving the award for the Rendu Services Sisters.
The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul here in St. Louis received two women, Margaret Kymes and Renée Trahant, as Seminary Sisters, or novices, on August 15, feast of the Assumption of Mary. At this time of “incorporation”, the women became members of the community and begin an 18 month novitiate in Evansville, IN.
Sr. Renée, who hails from New Iberia, Louisiana, is the daughter of Owen J. Trahant and Suzanne (Raymond) Trahant (deceased). Her ministry as a postulant this past year was at Hosea House, part of Guardian Angel Services here in the city. Sr. Renée appreciates getting to know the poor and hearing their stories, “In meeting them, you see the truth and you feel their pain,” she asserts, adding, “God has opened my eyes and I hope he keeps on doing it.”
Sr. Renée believes God has led her to this vocation by way of many life experiences including time in Senegal with the Peace Corps, years of legal work with her Dad who is an attorney, the recent death of her mother from cancer, the clean up after Hurricane Katrina, and finalizing an annulment. She looks forward to slowing down and getting closer to God. “People think I’ll have trouble with the quiet,” Sr. Renée notes, “but I am looking forward to it. I love God. I truly believe this is His will.” She says of her family, “They support me 110 percent, and they are still a very important part of my life”. Hear Sr. Renée in her own words
Sr. Margaret, daughter of Steve and Martha (Doering) Kymes, a native of St. Louis, served as receptionist at St. Cecilia’s Clinic, sponsored by Daughter of Charity Services – New Orleans, during her postulancy since August, 2009. “Leaving St. Louis was very difficult for me,” she says, “but I found it to be a very life-giving experience. It taught me that I can live outside of my home and my comfort zone and still be able to do what I want; to serve the poor and live with the Sisters in community.” She discovered a whole new culture in New Orleans as well as “a lot of recovery that still needs to be done after Katrina." “Prayer for me is the fuel that keeps me grounded to be able to serve the poor and be the best servant I can,” says Sr. Magaret.
As to knowing her call, she cites a priest at an Arizona retreat who brought her to the realization that “We cannot be at peace with what the world wants for us, but only with what God wants for us.” She found it harder to decide which community to enter. “It took me a year to come to the point of saying, ‘Yes, I want to be a Sister,” and an additional year on top of that to decide which community,” Sr. Magaret remembers. As for seminary, Sr. Margaret is “looking forward to the quiet and to living with other women who are in formation. It’s not going to be easy but I think I will enjoy it.” Hear Sr. Margaret in her own words
Sr. André Aycock, having served as a missionary in Taiwan for 31 years, has now returned to her Province of origin, the West Central Province in the U.S. That Province originally “lent” Sr. André to Taiwan for a three-year loan, because of a dire need for nurses in St. Mary’s Hospital, Taitung. Sr. André obtained an extension after three years because the hospital needed an anesthetist, Sr. André’s special training. Sister also began the hospital out-patient program of caring for the chronically ill in the far-off mountain villages. Often driving over an hour to remote mountain homes, Sr. André would sometimes have to bring severely ill patients back with her in the van to the hospital. Her mountain apostolate was often featured on TV and in the newspapers. This program, unique in Taiwan in its beginning, gradually expanded to the point where Taipei medical universities would send their student doctors to Taitung in the summer to learn under Sr. André the care of those too far away to come to the hospital.
After 25 years in Taitung, Sr. André was missioned to Liu Kui, another mountain area of aborigines. Here she continued visiting and nursing in the homes. In addition, Sister visited HIV-positive men in prison, where her nursing experience offered correct information and consolation to the prisoners. Now Sr. André’s “short-term assignment” has taken her back to St. Louis, leaving behind in Taiwan many grateful patients and friends, not to mention the Sisters who already miss her and pray for her.
Six hundred members of thirteen branches of the Vincentian Family in the regions of St. Louis, MO and Belleville, IL celebrated the 350th Anniversary of the deaths of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac on August 21-22, 2010.
Read the full story of the celebration
Monica Watson of famvin.org created a 20 minute video clip of the welcome, entrance procession and Fr. Gregory’s homily from the August 22, 2010 St. Louis region 350th Anniversary liturgy. Thanks, Monica. Watch the video on vimeo.com
Sr. Doris Moore, DC, shares how sixty members of the Vincentian Family celebrated the 350th anniversary of the death of St. Vincent and St. Louise on August 7, 2010 at St. Ann’s parish in North Little Rock, Arkansas...read the full story