Winter SALT 2019 Briefs: Sisters in the News
BVMs Receive Awards and Distinctions
Former Dubuque, Iowa, Mayor Carolyn (Lester) Farrell, BVM was among 14 people honored with the Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award. The award recognizes these individuals for raising $125,000 between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 1979, in order to rush food and medicine to 30,000 Cambodian refugees during the week of Christmas. Robert D. Ray was governor of Iowa from 1963–83.
During its Founders’ Day celebration in October, Clarke University honored two BVMs with a special naming ceremony of the Barwick Eppel Mail Center. The designation of the center commemorates 80 years of consecutive service to Clarke in the mail center by Rachel Eppel, BVM “Sister Mary Post Office,” who served from 1939–1968 and Ramona Barwick, BVM “Sister Mary Bookstore,” who has served from 1965 to today.
After recently making the switch to L.E.D. lighting and improving the energy efficiency of buildings at Mount Carmel in Dubuque, Iowa, the BVM Sisters were presented with the runner-up award in the national Interfaith Power & Light Cool Congregations contest in the Energy Saver category. Thank you to our many donors who made this possible.
Damien House has been selected as this year’s recipient of Loyola University Chicago’s 2018 Martyrs Award for bringing hope and dignity to patients who have been diagnosed with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Since the 1980s, Annie Credidio, BVM has been the driving force in this ministry. The award commemorates a faith-based individual or organization that champions social justice issues and serves marginalized communities.
Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM “Sister Jean” was the recipient of the Musial Award for Extraordinary Character from Maryville University in St. Louis. The award recognizes those who embody the same spirit of sportsmanship as the late St. Louis Cardinal Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial. As the chaplain for the Loyola University Chicago Men’s Basketball team, Sister Jean was launched into the national spotlight last year during Loyola’s rise to the NCAA Final Four. Worldwide, the 99-year-old sister, with her wit and wisdom, came to define what it means to be a good sport.
Messages of Welcome and Joy
On the feast day of St. Nicholas, sisters, associates, and staff gathered to create cards, drawings, and welcome messages to asylum seekers and those working to support them
at the border.
Watch BVMs Mary (Mercedie) McCauley (l.) and Theresa Marie (Dorothy) Gleeson talk about this important ministry on
our website: bvmsisters.org/video-gallery.
Just a Pinch
Want to read more about the BVM Sisters? Visit: bvmsisters.org/news.
Related Stories:
- To Vietnam with Love: BVM and IHM Sisters Expand Circle of Friends
BVMs Teri Hadro and Kate Hendel visit Nha Trang to join in celebration. - Ireland: A Pilgrimage to Where it All Began
Group explores where five women answered the call.
This story was featured in:
Winter SALT 2019: Into the World with Love
When BVMs Teri Hadro and Kate Hendel visited the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Vietnam, they brought with them 185 years of rich BVM heritage and a message of friendship that echoed the words of BVM Foundress Mary Frances Clarke, “Where one BVM is, all BVMs are.” In this issue, discover ways the BVM Legacy of Love continues to grow throughout the world.
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