The Loyola Institute for Ministry has received its third grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation entitled "Living Charisms for Sustainable Human Development." Our first project was called Communicating Charism.

Produced in collaboration with Salt+Light TV, LIM presents "As I Have Done," a 90-minute documentary series featuring East African sisters' contributions to sustainable development. Watch the three episodes now.

LIM has created a resource for Catholic high school teachers related to "As I Have Done," available for free here. See also five short videos about East African congregations.

Implicit at every level of Catholicism is the theme of partnership, both divine-human partnership and the partnerships that Catholicism’s communal commitments imply. Fundamental to Catholic social teaching (CST) is emphasis on human dignity, the common good, and sustainability, all themes that find resonance in African traditions, including, for example, in the tradition of “abundant life."

This project prepares communities of Catholic sisters to frame their own work in terms of partnership. It allows them to connect the secular language of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to CST and to their own culturally specific identities and charisms, and it equips them with practical skills in partnership, resource development, and communication on behalf of their work for sustainability. As a result, this project enables Catholic sisters to be intentional about pursuing partnerships for sustainable development and so to live out their charisms more effectively.

This project is funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Learn more about the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation's Catholic Sisters Initiative.

Project Objectives

This project is educational; it enhances the ability of congregations of Catholic sisters to:

• Increase the leadership skills of East African sisters, especially with respect to their ability to communicate and partner with other organizations addressing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
• Leverage the partnerships that already exist in sisters’ ministries in the service of sustainable development.
• Publicize to the wider public the work of participating congregations on behalf of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as understood in terms of Catholic Social Teaching and their charisms.

Resources

Media & Films:

• Press Release from Loyola: New Major Grant Helps LIM Further Sustainable Development Efforts in Africa
• Catholic Social Teaching Poster in Swahili for adults and children (produced by Loyola with permission as part of "Catholic Sisters in Partnership for Sustainability") and in English for adults and children.
• Media partner, Salt+Light TV and their page devoted to "As I Have Done" video series. The series premiered on Salt+Light TV in late November 2019. DVDs were distributed to congregations. Series will be broadcast free online during Lent 2020; broadcast will be promoted by radio internationally. Then it will be available free on Loyola's and participating congregations' website and shown on NET TV, CatholicTV, and local TV stations in North America and East Africa. 
  • Project Manager Sarah DeMarais interviewed about the film for Salt+Light Hour radio show/podcast. Listen to the segment from 27:21-38:45.
  • Project Manager Sarah DeMarais interviewed about the film for Catholic Community Radio's show Wake Up! Listen to the segment beginning 39:40.
  • Project Manager Sarah DeMarais wrote blog post about traveling and producing the series, published on Salt+Light's website: "Experiencing the transformative impact of Catholic sisters in East Africa."
  • Free Lenten streaming of film promoted extensively through Salt+Light's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. For example, see #AsIHaveDone on Facebook and Twitter, and this Instagram story.
  • Project Manager Sarah DeMarais created a downloadable free Lesson Guide for High School Theology Teachers to use "As I Have Done" for online or in-person learning.
  • Loyola's press release about airing of "As I Have Done" and "Sisterhood" film series on WLAE-TV New Orleans Public Television
• Videos and articles from previous project entitled "Communicating Charism: Educating for Leadership and Social Media Capacity in Communities of Women Religious," including information about Sisterhood film produced with media partner, Salt+Light TV.

Presentations:

• Project Director Thomas Ryan, "International, Online, Action-Research Education: Gifts and Challenges," Poster Presentation, Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry Annual Meeting, Tucson, AZ, February 6, 2020. 
• Project Manager Sarah DeMarais and Project Director Thomas Ryan, "Formation in Catholic Social Teaching for Global Solidarity," Presentation at Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference, Kenner, LA, January 10, 2020. 
  • CST Resources for Educators (collected by Project Manager Sarah DeMarais for presentation)
• Project Manager Sarah DeMarais, "Global Wisdom for Ecological Conversion: Lessons in Discipleship from East Africa," Presentation at St. Joseph Parish for “Lent, Creation, and Spirituality for Discipleship” series, New Orleans, LA, April 10, 2019.
• Project Student Sr. Mary Dolores Urassa, CDNK; Project Manager Sarah DeMarais; Project Director Thomas Ryan, "Forming Women Religious as Agents of the Catholic Social Tradition," Presentation at the University of Notre Dame's Option for the Poor: Engaging the Catholic Social Tradition Conference, Notre Dame, IN, March 21, 2019.
• Project Manager Sarah DeMarais, “Displaced Persons & Sacred Spaces: Catholic Sisters Respond to Crisis,” Presentation at Loyola University New Orleans Peace Conference, New Orleans, LA, May 23, 2018.

Publications:

• Article by Project Manager Sarah DeMarais, Project Evaluator Steven Mumford, and Project Director Thomas Ryan published in The International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement exploring the project's implications for international service-learning programs: "The Transformative Potential of Service-Learning in an African Religious Context" 
• Article by Project Manager Sarah DeMarais published in the Clarion Herald (official newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans): "Women religious live out Catholic Social Teaching."
• Student-authored articles about their sustainable development projects for the Global Sisters Report:
  • Sr. Charity Bbalo, "Preserving trees by making charcoal from paper litter"
  • Sr. Jackline Mwongela, "Bringing Catholic social teaching to boys recovering from street life"
  • Sr. Anne Wandia Mbithi, "Our call in South Sudan"
  • Sr. Teresia Mbugua, "Teaching About Domestic Violence in Tanzania"

Participating Congregations

• Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa (FMSA)
• The Grail
• Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa (IHSA)
• Little Sisters of St. Francis (LSOSF)
• Loreto Sisters, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM)
• Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood (CPS)
• Sisters of the Holy Spirit, Monze
• Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix (IHMR)
• Sisters of Mary of Kakamega (SMK)
• Sisters of Our Lady of Kilimanjaro (CDNK)
• Ursuline Sisters of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (Grey Ursulines)

For more information, contact Project Manager, Sarah DeMarais at 504-865-3571 or scdemara@loyno.edu.