Sister Ana María Vilca Mamani hadn’t lived in her small hometown of La Curva, Peru for more than 20 years, but the arrival of the COVID pandemic found her there again, caring for her parents far from her usual ministries in Lima. Being in La Curva increased her awareness of local needs, especially the desperation facing poor rural families after schools shut down.
In recent years, the Spanish-speaking population of Albany, NY has been swelling, along with needs that Sister Grace R. Diaz (S. Lydia Maria) is uniquely prepared to meet. Sister Grace worked with the founding members of Family Promise of the Capital Region to help immigrant families in need of affordable and safe housing.
In 2000, Sister Catherine Ferguson invited members of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to form a coalition Non-Governmental Organization to advocate at the United Nations on behalf of women and children. In December 2001, six congregations met to develop a mission statement and budget, as well as to create the new organization’s name: UNANIMA International.
We encourage you to read this powerful statement from the U.S. National Black Sisters Conference on the murder of Tyre Nichols. We, the Sisters of the Holy Names of the U.S.-Ontario Province, stand with our Black Sisters as they speak publicly about Tyre’s death and the urgent need for systemic reform.