Sr. Louise was born an Angelina near what is now Staples Center in Los Angeles. Her father was first generation from the Czech community of Kansas and Nebraska. Her mother was first generation German descent.She grew up in South Gate CA and attended Pius X High School in Downey. Met the Sisters of St. Joseph…
Sister Barbara Battista is a Sister of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Indiana. As her congregation’s Justice Promoter, Barbara puts her energy into interfaith and intergenerational community organizing advocating for the common good for all creation. Racial and ecologic healing and restoration of wholesome and healthy practices supporting all life is central to her ministry. Time…
I am a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. When teaching in New Orleans, I was influenced by the passion of Sister Helen Prejean as she raised awareness of the inhumanity and injustice of the death penalty. I had the opportunity to accompany one of our Sisters to the execution of her nephew…
Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF is a Franciscan sister of Clinton, Iowa and is originally from Boston. She has been ministering at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago since 2014. She leads circle trainings in several prisons and offers peace circles in the community. Janet has a Communications degree from UConn and a Master’s in…
Sr. Elaine Davia is Area Leader for the Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, as well as a member of the sisters’ Congregation Team. She joined the Sisters of Bon Secours in 1964 and professed her final vows in 1975. Most of Sr. Elaine’s ministerial life as a Sister of Bon Secours has been working as…
Sr. Alice is a member of the Congregation of Divine Providence of KY. She taught in elementary schools and at Xavier University. An advocate in justice ministries staffed the Peace and Justice Office of her congregation for eleven years and served on Province Leadership teams. As coordinator of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (now…
Sue Weishar has worked in the education and social service sectors for over forty years, including fourteen years as the Director of the Immigration and Refugees at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (1991 to 2005) and fourteen years as a Policy and Research Fellow at the Jesuit Social Research Institute (JSRI) at Loyola University…
Sr. Diane Koorie is a Sister of Mercy originally from New Orleans, LA, now living in Oklahoma City, OK. My years of initial formation in the community were spent in St. Louis, MO, where I attended St. Louis University graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry. I taught for several years in high…
North Carolina has become my home since 1988. I am a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Community in Raleigh, NC – part of the Diocese of Raleigh. In 2019 I joined the parish’s Pen Pal Ministry which supports the men on Death Row at Central Prison, Raleigh. I’d volunteered in other prisons, but…
Marie Kenyon has had a lengthy career in advancing the social justice mission of the Catholic Church. She is currently the director of the Office of Peace and Justice and founder of the inaugural Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. She also chairs the Archdiocese Immigration Task Force and is the…
Born and raised in the mountain west, I was vaguely aware of the death penalty, but it was never headline news in Montana. I knew, however, from an early age that my Catholic faith called for mercy and that Thou Shalt Not Kill was the 6th commandment, to be applied universally. After marrying, I lived…
Deacon Paul Kipfstuhl is a Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Cleveland, and is the Director of the Social Action Office of Catholic Charities Cleveland for the Southwestern part of the Diocese. Paul is also a member of the Board for Catholic Mobilizing Network, and a Board member of the National Association of Catholic Social…