Karen Brady, M.R.E., pictured on the far right with her Confirmation class, introduced them to a new way of preparing to experience the sacrament. In the Diocese of Tucson, she partnered with Fr. Emanuel “Manu” Franco-Gomez, O.Carm., to offer Confirmation candidates an experience of sacramental preparation that transformed traditional formation by pairing it with Kairos retreats at which adult mentors joined the candidates to support their spiritual growth. An article about this program appeared in the Diocese of Tucson's New Outlook.
Ms. Sheri Salvagio, M.R.E., was named permanent president and CEO of Cabrini High School by the Board of Trustees in late December 2022. Previous to that, she had been serving as interim president since June 2022. Sheri joined the Cabrini High School staff in 2019 as director of institutional advancement and alumnae relations. She has more than 25 years of Catholic educational and administrative experience and brings many gift and talents to her new position. LIM wishes her great success in leading Cabrini High School and its students!
Interim LIM Director Tracey Lamont, Ph.D., received the University Senate Excellence Award in Service at the Spring 2023 President's Convocation for Faculty & Staff held on January 20. Isabel Medina, J.D., presented the award. In her remarks, she noted that the University Senate Award is selected by faculty alone who chose to recognize Dr. Lamont's work at the national, regional, and local levels.
On Nov. 10, 2022, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., presented Dr. Ansel Augustine (MPS) with the ARTIE Award for Literature. The award recognizes Ansel’s latest book, Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church we Love, Love Us Back?, which received a Pulitzer Prize Nomination for general nonfiction.
Alumna Sr. Erin McDonald, CSJ, MPS, is excited about the November 2022 launch of her podcast Beyond the Habit, which she co-hosts with fellow Sister of St Joseph Colleen Gibson, SSJ. Beyond the Habit invites listeners to move beyond everyday assumptions of what it means to be Catholic, find common ground, and create unity by talking with special guests about real life issues. Sister Erin studied at LIM through a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation titled Communicating Charism.
On November 10, 2022, Sarah Demarais was a guest on Catholic Community Radio's Wake Up! Thursday program. CCR producer Gaby Smith Shinskie interviewed Sarah to learn more about "Flourishing Sisterhood: Nourishing Communities in the Gulf South," a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
In October 2022, The Clarion Herald featured an article about "Flourishing Sisterhood: Nourishing Communities in the Gulf South," a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. In the article, LIM's grant manager for Hilton-funded projects, Sarah DeMarais, spoke about the grant's focus on supporting the well-being of sisters in the Gulf South through learning and spiritual formation opportunities.
On Nov. 9, 2022, LIM graduate Stacy Wells, M.R.E., (second from left) was among the faculty, administrators, and students who welcomed Fr. Greg Boyle to the campus of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, California, where she is Dean of Mission and Ministry. Fr. Boyle came to speak to the students about Homeboy Industries, the ministry he founded in 1988 to help former gang members in East Los Angeles to improve their lives. He was accompanied by two members of the organization who also spoke to the teens. The campus comunity shared a liturgy celebrated by Fr. Boyle.
On October 26, 2022, Professor Emerita Kathleen O’Gorman, Ed.D., delivered a moving presentation for Rayne Methodist Church in New Orleans entitled “Remembering We Are Not Alone.” She began in honor of her mentor, Thomas Berry, C.P., by asking the group and responding to the question that guides her in all things: What time is it? Where are we in this time and place, and what are we called to respond to or reflect more deeply on? In her presnetation, Dr. O'Gorman brought forth the wisdom of our ancestors who were guided, sustained, and who lived by the sun.
Emily Jendzejec, Ph.D., celebrates the publication of her essay "Priesthood as Discipleship for Mission" in the recent volume A Possible Priesthood: Horizons of Hope (Orbis Books 2022). This collection of essays, rooted in church tradition and responsive to Vatican II, includes its authors' hopes for the future of the priesthood.