Loyola University New Orleans’ Institute for Ministry (LIM) has been awarded a fourth grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative. This new three-year grant, totaling $545,000, provides transformative support for the leadership and well-being of Catholic sisters in the greater New Orleans community and beyond.

The project “Flourishing Sisterhood: Nourishing Community in the Gulf South” was inspired by in-depth conversations with local sisters. It promotes sisters’ flourishing in light of opportunities provided by the changing landscape of religious life and sisterhood today in the Gulf Coast region.

In this project, sisters will participate in theological and spiritual formation in LIM learning communities, with a focus on spirituality and aging. LIM will also partner with the Vicar for Religious of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Sr. Beth Fitzpatrick, O.Carm., to survey local sisters and develop a comprehensive plan to better meet their needs today. Finally, LIM will produce a podcast series to capture and share powerful stories of sisters’ lived experiences and wisdom, including efforts for justice, and to generate support for sisters’ ministries. 

“As we have learned from our previous work with religious sisters, they accomplish so much in support of the common good, often with limited resources,” said Tracey Lamont, interim director for LIM. “This grant is motivated by gratitude for the hard work of these amazing women, and will help them to thrive in their congregations and ministries.”

The new grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Catholic Sisters Initiative, builds on three prior projects, which have since 2014 funded LIM’s transformative theological education, spiritual formation and leadership development for and with Catholic sisters in the U.S., Asia, and West and East Africa. Sisters who participated in these projects have emerged as leaders promoting human development and sustainability inspired by Catholic social teaching.

Read the article announcing the grant in NCR's Global Sisters Report here»

For more information on this and previous projects, see http://cnh.loyno.edu/lim/flourishing-sisterhood or contact LIM's Project Manager Sarah Demarais at scdemara@loyno.edu.