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Sister Lourdes Quintana Cortavitarte at the school in Patabama, Peru.

Communities in the Andes Mountains of Peru receive little government support for education. Students need teachers. Teachers need support. Sister Lourdes Quintana Cortavitarte is helping make a difference.

Sister Lourdes first traveled to the high Andean communities in Peru’s Coya District with Sister Brigid Baumann in 2012 to support the Kausay Wasi Clinic on visits to communities that have limited access to medical care. Sister Lourdes also worked with the missionary ministry of Coya’s San Juan Bautisa Parish. She made a permanent move to Coya in 2022 to support the mountain communities.

Traveling to Patabamba, Qenqo and Sihua, Sister Lourdes created programs for young people in the villages. Her “Espere” workshop on forgiveness and reconciliation served high school students, and she ran classes teaching St. Ignatian spiritual exercises to children. To promote the Coya community’s resolve to care for the environment, Sister Lourdes organized a recycling program to collect and process plastic and cardboard waste.

“These first activities allowed me to learn more about the towns and rural communities,” said Sister Lourdes. Many years of reflection on the needs of the high Andean communities built her dream to “awaken and develop the potential that children and teachers have.”

In August 2024, with the support of grant funds and contributions from family and friends, Sister Lourdes started the “Soccoy Kicharinquin” (“Open Hearts”) program to support students and their teachers in Queqo and Sihua. The program focuses on accompanying children and young people through spiritual growth, encouraging the joy of music in children by forming community choirs, and providing resources for the local teachers.

“She supports the teachers,” said Sister Linda Patrick, a member of the SNJM Provincial Leadership Team who visited the schools in December 2024. “She is accompanying them and helping them to be better teachers.” “It’s not just the Holy Names Sisters who are doing this work. They are building a community of people who are working to serve the poor,” said Sister Linda. “All of these people are giving their time and energy to help lift people up. That is a wonderful thing. That is what we need to do. It is Mother Rose’s vision being carried out.”

SNJM’s Immigrant and Refugee Fund was established in 2019 to support organizations that directly serve people who live outside their country of origin or have been displaced within their country. On an annual basis, Sisters establish partnerships with organizations to find effective ways to provide resources for migrants and refugees.

Adelante Mujeres

Adelante Mujeres co-founder Sister Barbara Raymond.

Approximately 98% of participants in Adelante Mujeres’s programs are low or extremely low-income and an estimated 91% are first-generation immigrants. The “Casa Qui” program and storefront helps Latine women-owned businesses meet capital and financial requirements to enter the market. The “CHICAS” program served over 600 young people in 2024, providing after-school programs, field trips and summer camps.

SNJM’s grant supports Adelante Mujeres’s Leadership and Advocacy programs, including their “Immigration Academy,” which educates participants on immigration policies affecting their communities.

Through education, entrepreneurship and advocacy, Adelante Mujeres continues to create opportunities for Latine women and youth, empowering them to lead and shape a more inclusive community.

Adelante Mujeres staff and supporters participate in the annual May Day rally at the Oregon State Capital in Salem, Oregon.

Immigrant Resources and Immediate Support (IRIS)

Bellingham, Washington’s Immigrant Resources and Immediate Support (IRIS) provides immediate assistance to immigrants and refugees experiencing a temporary period of crisis. The organization works to get assistance to families as quickly as possible, cutting through the red tape that immigrants often experience attaining resources. Sister Susan Wells, a member of the SNJM Congregational Leadership Team, is a member of the IRIS Advisory Board. “IRIS is unique in that we respond very quickly to urgent situations and provide low-barrier access to support services,” she said.

SNJM’s grant will assist in funding this critical work. IRIS plays a significant role in the network of community services that respect the human dignity of all members of the Skagit and Whatcom County communities. Sister Susan summarized, “The SNJM investment in IRIS has had a tremendous direct impact on the lives of so many immigrants and refugees who often have nowhere else to turn for support.”

Amidst the challenges in injustice and poverty, Holy Names Sisters and Associates remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting human dignity and standing with the most vulnerable. The initiatives below, supported by SNJM Ministry Grant funding, remind us that to protect human dignity is to defend hope itself.

The Santa Chiara Children’s Center

Two young members of the Santa Chiara Children’s Center family.

The Santa Chiara Children’s Center in Haiti offers refuge for children grappling with the profound challenges of poverty, hunger and emotional neglect. A dedicated staff ensures that the center’s 43 students receive a nurturing education tailored to their needs. Sister Vera Ruotolo, a longtime supporter of the center, said, “I was passionately drawn to the Santa Chiara Children’s Center because of the very poor and abandoned children rescued from the extreme poverty and daily chaos of Haiti.”

Located in an area without running water, paved roads or reliable electricity, the center relies on solar power and a diesel generator to maintain its operations. Founder Gerry Straub shared, “The gangs pervasive attacks on people, hospitals and businesses goes on unabated. We can’t succumb to hopelessness. In Haiti, hope is always delayed and often betrayed. The only way to disarm the destructive sense of hopelessness is following Christ and living the Gospel more fully.

The Friendship Office of the Americas/Honduras Accompaniment Project

The Honduras Accompaniment Project (PROAH) is a project of the Friendship Office of the Americas that emerged as an emergency response to the U.S.-backed military coup in Honduras in 2009. The project provides accompaniment for human rights defenders at risk due to their individual and collective work for human rights and environmental rights in a context of targeted political violence.

PROAH aims to address the deep injustices that force so many to flee Central America, focusing on root causes linked to U.S. policies in the region. Reflecting on its impact, Sister Carol Ries shared, “l am particularly impressed with the staff and volunteers as they accompany local Honduran people, particularly women on the margins, exercising leadership skills to bring justice and human rights for all people.”

In a country where violence, impunity and inequality are deeply entrenched, PROAH works with partners in Honduras to stand as a powerful force for change, reminding the world of the enduring importance of justice, solidarity and human dignity.

Bertha Olivia, General Coordinator of the Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH). PROAH has partnered with COFADEH since 2009.

Resident Florence celebrates her Canadian citizenship.

The three-story home provides temporary shelter for up to 10 people. In 2022, SNJM opened Oak House to complement Angela Rose House. This additional two-story home accommodates 10-12 individuals and serves as a transitional space for refugees ready to integrate into the community and achieve independence.

Refugees (families and single women) arrive first to Angela Rose House and, once they have completed their immigration application and begin working, move to Oak House to prepare for resettlement and integration into the Windsor community. Ilda Demir, who has served as coordinator of the homes for more than seven years, works directly with the residents, getting them settled and providing resources.

The impact of Angela Rose and Oak Houses is evident in the stories of its residents. Florence, a former resident, reflected, “When I arrived in Canada, I was welcomed here at the Angela Rose House. This has been my home since I entered Canada, and I thank God that I am now a Canadian citizen. I was helped with every need, regardless of how big. Truly, this is a place of hope.”

Another resident who moved to Oak House in January 2024 shared a similar sentiment: “I am so thankful for Ilda bringing us here from the immigration hotels, where I couldn’t cook and didn’t have enough space for my girls. Thank you to God for bringing the Angela Rose and Oak Houses into existence. It is a home filled with love, peace and laughter. A home where you are well taken care of, where the Sisters make sure you are safe. A home of no discrimination. My safe place.”

Besides offering transitional housing, Angela Rose House staff help the refugees with settlement, work with them to understand and complete the refugee claimant process, provide emotional support, walk them through registering children in school and adults for ESL classes, accompany them to appointments, and prepare them for independence. All the services aim to make the entire process easier for them as they settle into their home and integrate into the community.

For over 16 years, Angela Rose House has welcomed more than 360 refugees from 43 countries. Today, 20 refugees, including children, are residents of the two houses, continuing their journeys of rebuilding their lives in Canada. The benefits are long-lasting. Many of the refugees who have been through the houses maintain connections with each other as a supportive community.

The Angela Rose and Oak Street Houses are more than a refuge. They are a symbol of hope, resilience and the enduring spirit of hospitality that transforms lives and inspires communities.

Sister Barbara Spears (center right, in orange) attends the ASEC graduation ceremony for women religious in Ghana.

“We celebrate you, Sisters, because you have persevered,” said SNJM Sister Barbara Spears at the graduation ceremony for 64 Sisters in Ghana. Graduates recently completed the Sister Leadership and Development Initiative program presented by the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC). “I believe these Sisters have acquired competencies that will allow them to bring valuable change and growth to their ministries. The skills acquired do not end with the individual Sister, but rather they are tools for service to your congregations, the diocese, communities, society and yes, the people of God.”

Sister Barbara traveled to West Africa for two weeks in August of 2024 as the Board Chair of ASEC to attend joyful celebrations in Ghana and Nigeria, speaking to groups of graduates as they completed ASEC’s three-year program. ASEC, a U.S. organization that serves thousands of Sisters in Africa, has been funding education for 25 years, including leadership development, high school scholarships, higher education and two-year college programs.

SNJM first started relationships with communities in Africa when a group of Sisters traveled to the Southern African country of Lesotho in 1931. Healthcare-focused ministry work during the mission trip led to the creation of several healthcare centers including Lesotho’s Maryland Health Center. Today, SNJM’s Lesotho Province is an active community of over 70 Sisters. Twenty-seven of those Sisters have graduated from ASEC leadership and technology programs in the past decade, and Sister Francina Mokoteli is now Director of ASEC programs in Lesotho.

Education is a core component of many SNJM ministries because of its transformational impact. ASEC’s work supports communities in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that face obstacles of poverty, chronic hunger, disease, ecological degradation and violence. Forty-eight percent of Sisters in these countries lack higher education credentials and access to the training they need to effectively carry out their service work (ASEC Congregation Survey, 2019-2020). ASEC programs help Sisters lead with education, strengthening their communities from within and making a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals in Africa.

Support of ASEC is part of SNJM’s response to the needs of our world and our commitment to “deepen our capacity to live our oneness and interdependence with the whole Earth community,” (SNJM Acts of the 35th Chapter, 2021). Sister Barbara said to the new group of leaders in Ghana, “We are challenged as women religious to examine the ways in which we can individually and collectively bridge the gap. You and I can do it.”

SNJM Sisters in Lesotho celebrate after completing their ASEC Leadership and Development program.

To our partners in mission and our community,

As many of you are aware, the people of Lesotho and in many other parts of the world have been dramatically impacted by the actions of the U.S. government in the freezing of U.S.A.I.D. funds which had been lawfully authorized by the U.S. Congress. According to an article posted on the Barron’s New Service, life-saving HIV programs in Lesotho are at risk of collapse following the loss of U.S. foreign aid. The freezing of these desperately needed funds has also caused severe harm in places like Gaza and Ukraine, where emergency food and medical supplies destined for war-ravaged cities and villages is not being delivered.

Our Congregational Leadership Team and the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center (IPJC), one of our SNJM Sponsored Ministries in Seattle, WA, issued a legislative action alert so that our partners in mission and community members can easily send a direct request to their area Senators and Representatives demanding that Congress ensure that the U.S.A.I.D. funds be released in order to save lives and ensure lawfully authorized Congressional funding be delivered as required by law.

If you are living in the United States, use the following link to take you to the IPJC Legislative Action Page to complete the action alert: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/demand-that-usaid-funds-be-released

Please join us in prayer for all those persons affected by this illegal and unjust action. As members of the SNJM community, we remain in solidarity with the marginalized peoples in all areas of the world.

SNJM is celebrating the launch of Holy Names Educational Ministries, a new organization led by Sisters and Catholic lay colleagues to continue the sponsorship of SNJM schools across the United States. SNJM member schools are:

Academy of the Holy Names in Albany, New York
Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa, Florida
Holy Names Academy in Seattle, Washington
Holy Names High School in Oakland, California
Holy Names Music Center in Spokane, Washington
Next Step Learning Center in Oakland, California
Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California
St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon

Holy Names Educational Ministries (HNEM) will ensure a strong and mission-focused future for our beloved schools.

Click here to read the press release from Holy Names Educational Ministries.

For more information, you can visit the new website for HNEM: click here to visit the HNEM website.

The Holy Names Educational Ministries board. (L-R) Front row: Sisters Cynthia Canning, Marcia Frideger, Margaret Kennedy, and Maureen Delaney. Back row: Arthur Raimo, Elizabeth Swift, Mary Mansell, Lynne Kennedy Mullen and Gregory Schopf. Not pictured: Sister Linda Patrick.

Mercy Greenbrae Apartments on the Marylhurst campus in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Facing the future site of Mercy Greenbrae, Sisters of the Holy Names stood up, extended their hands and joined Sister Linda Patrick in a blessing for the land.

“God, we thank you for the wonder and beauty of this land. We bless it now and into the future. Fill it with community, laughter, love and all good things. Amen.”
-Sister Linda Patrick

Sisters of the Holy Names bless the land at the future site of Mercy Greenbrae.

Sisters and community leaders spoke at the November 2022 groundbreaking ceremony for the affordable housing project, celebrating the fruitful collaboration that led to plans for the first secured affordable multi-family housing ever to be constructed in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Speakers shared their dreams for the project—dreams coming true 18 months later as people move into Mercy Greenbrae at Marylhurst Commons.

When Marylhurst University closed in 2018, the campus reverted to the Sisters of the Holy Names. The looming question, what could be done with this beautiful campus to help meet a need? Guided by their core value of service to the community, the Sisters discerned their next steps.

Over the following months, members of the SNJM Provincial Leadership Team met in focus groups with Sisters, community members and Marylhurst University alumni and former staff. The passion and excitement this process generated wasn’t a surprise— people cared about the health of their community and recognized the great opportunity at hand. Leadership team member Sister Maureen Delaney said, “Many people had lots of ideas of what could happen on this campus. But one theme kept coming up in every group. The people said, ‘Housing. We need housing. We need housing for people with fewer financial resources.’”

The need has been growing in the Lake Oswego area and across Oregon for years. The 2005 final report from Lake Oswego’s Affordable Housing Task Force established the official need for more housing development, but formal recommendations for action were never realized. A 2022 report from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development determined that Oregon has a supply gap of 140,000 homes to meet the needs of the state’s population.

With the core community need of housing identified, SNJM’s leadership team established a partnership with Mercy Housing, an organization founded in 1981 by six religious communities to address the needs of low-income families. Creating over 48,000 homes since their founding, including residences for over 5,000 people in Washington and California, the Marylhurst property would be their first development in Oregon.

In line with the values of Mercy and SNJM, construction on the 100 units of affordable housing began with a focus on sustainable development. Mercy Greenbrae will use 40% less energy than a conventional building and will be fully electric, not relying on any fossil fuels for heating. But the work is not done when the building is complete.

Sister Maureen Delaney visits with sustainable development consultants.

“It’s not just the home. We also use housing as a platform,” explained Mercy’s Director of Resident Services Katie Parker on an episode of SNJM’s “Women on a Mission” podcast. Residents of the new building have access to health and wellness services as well as tutoring programs. About Mercy’s work to support residents, Sister Linda Patrick said, “Their profound commitment to providing a warm and welcoming home for individuals and families permeates and guides all they do.”

The journey that led the Sisters to Mercy Greenbrae affirms their commitment to service. Residents moving into Greenbrae are bringing new life to the Marylhurst campus. As Sister Linda’s blessing acknowledged, new residents now share in the wonder and beauty of the land.

Sister Maureen Delaney and Sister Linda Patrick participate in a hard hat tour during construction.