“Racism is taught in our society. It is not automatic.”  Alex Haley

On Sunday, August 14, at 4:00 P.M. in the chapel at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet, the Joliet Franciscan Sisters will hold a Ritual of Acceptance of a new Corporate Stance on Anti-Racism.  This event is open to everyone.

The Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) was created in 2012. The committee members are a racially diverse group consisting of Sisters and members of the Joliet community. ARC’s activities include multiple presentations to Sisters, Associates, sponsored institution administrations, faculties and boards, as well as the Social Justice Coalition of the Joliet Diocese. The committee has been a participant in the BlueStem Earth Festival held each May, presented a reflection at the Spring 2015 Prayer Breakfast hosted by the Mission Advancement office, and offered a prayer service at the Joliet Franciscan Center in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2015.

The new Corporate Stance states: 

We, Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, commit to a stance of Anti-Racism.  As we take this position, we promise to make conscious intentional efforts to eradicate racism in all its forms – individual, cultural and institutional.

This is the fourth Corporate Stance the Sisters have accepted – the first three being:

• We commit ourselves to prayer, study, dialogue and action for nuclear disarmament. (1996)
• We commit to cultivating a reverent, interdependent relationship with earth and all its peoples. (2004)
• We denounce the practice of human trafficking and commit ourselves to the work of bringing about the elimination of this evil practice. (2006)

For more information about the Ritual of Acceptance on August 14, please call Sister Juanita Ujcik at 815-725-8735 or by email at:  jujcik@jolietfranciscans.org

Sister Mary Franz recently celebrated a milestone birthday.  Born in Ohio on May 23, 1916, Sister Mary (formerly known as Sister Ursuline) celebrated her centennial  birthday among family, friends and residents at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet.

To read more about Sister Mary’s Birthday celebration, click on Sr. Mary Birthday.

On May 7, Sister Jeanne Bessette was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, for her lifelong commitment to education, her dedication to her community of religious Sisters and for her hope that all children can reach their greatest potential through education.

Sister Jeanne has served as president and CEO of DePaul Cristo Rey (DPCR) High School in Cincinnati – a sponsored institution of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati – since 2009, the year it was founded.  Through Sister Jeanne’s vision and commitment to education, the school has grown from an idea to 280 students from across the city and a staff of 50. There have now been two graduating classes, with all students having been accepted into college.

DePaul Cristo Rey, one of 30 high schools serving urban youth in the nationwide Cristo Rey Network, is a college preparatory high school that uses a Corporate Work Study program providing students with real-life work experience throughout their high school years. With support from the Cincinnati business community, students work five days a month which assists in financing more than 70 percent of their education.

Sister Jeanne received a doctorate from the University of San Francisco, a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago and a bachelors’ degree from the University of St. Francis in Joliet. She has also received multiple honors for her work in the area of education. No stranger to leadership, Sister Jeanne has served on the Joliet Franciscan Governing Board for eight years, as well as serving as principal at Trinity High School in River Forest, Illinois.

Sister Jeanne shares stories of how the lives of DPCR students are changed through education. The students come from predominantly low-income families who, without DPCR, would not have access to a quality education.  As any Joliet Franciscan Sister will agree, Sister Jeanne believes that the cycle of poverty can be broken through a quality education.