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  Congregational Chapter 2026 Prayer As an international, intercultural community, let us pray together for God’s Spirit on the preparations for our 25th Congregational Chapter:   “Holy Adventure: The Path to Possibilities” Provident God, give us a sense of your Presence on our Holy Adventure together. Strengthen our trust in your providential love and care as we explore new paths for the future before us. Open us to see possibilities, give us the courage to embrace them, and to enter into this Congregational Chapter ready to embark on a Holy Adventure with You.  Amen.   (Sister Barbara McMullen, XVII Congregational Leader)  

            July 13, 2025 Dear Sisters, Happy Ketteler Day!  I call upon the spirits of both Bishop Ketteler and Mother Marie as I officially announce the Twenty-Fifth Congregational Chapter of the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence.   The Chapter is scheduled to convene at St. Imbert Center in Seoul, South Korea from September 1-14, 2026.  The Chapter will officially open with a liturgy of the Holy Spirit, after which the Delegates will proceed to the meeting room to begin the opening session of the Chapter.  The Chapter will close on September 14 after the signing of the Acts of the Chapter and celebration of a closing Mass. The theme of the Chapter is Holy Adventure: The Path to Possibilities.  Undergirding this theme is the Scripture: “Behold I make all things new.”  (Revelations 21:5)  A holy adventure is a journey in trust and in hope that we will see together a new future for our Congregation.  We have been on this path for a few years now as we have pondered and shared ideas for our new governance structures, reviewed our Constitutions, participated in national and international meetings.  This “holy adventure” beckons us to come with an open spirit, a trusting heart, a far-sighted mission.  The “path to possibilities” offers us the opportunity to detach from our own preferences for the good of the whole, to energize us with hope to imagine new ways of being together and to listen to the workings of the Spirit in our midst for the transformation of our hearts.  The Chapter logo, designed by our own Sr. Bibiana, symbolizes this theme with the open circle, the path of possibilities from the present to our future, and the guidance of the Spirit leading us.   The three colors of green, blue and yellow speak of hope, peace, vitality, trust, wisdom, joy, faith, determination and creativity.  This adventurous path will challenge us to break down our boundaries and overcome obstacles.  This adventure will change us and give us the opportunity to experience a deep understanding and respect among our cultures as an international congregation in a new way as we open ourselves to new horizons.  Providence will lead us! The beginning day and a half of the Chapter will have a presentation by Sister Nancy Schreck, OSF who will open our hearts to the Gospel message of unity as we seek new directions for the Congregation’s future.  We will commit ourselves, once again, as an intercultural Congregation to deepen our relationships and interconnectedness with one another and our global world.  Much of the Chapter agenda will be informed from the work of the established Commissions, especially the Constitutions Commission, where we will be looking at and selecting a new governance model.  We will also be discerning and electing a new Congregational Leadership Team.  In preparation for this graced time in our history, I invite every Sister / local community to begin praying the enclosed Chapter prayer.  Let us call upon the Spirit’s guidance, as well as our founders and all the great women who have gone before us, to intercede for us before our Provident God for the courage to move in new and bold ways for the good of the whole.  We are on a” holy adventure” together, a special time of both grace, blessings and challenges.  Together we explore the “path to possibilities” that will lead us now and in the future years to come.  In God’s loving Providence, Sister Barbara McMullen, Congregational Leader   Acknowledgements:  Chapter Logo:  Sister Bibianna Jinah Whang                                        Chapter Prayer:  Sister Barbara McMullen, XVII General Superior

  "Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?o " (Matthew 6:26)   "We pray in memory of our bishop Ketteler who, trusted in God’s Providence as he sought the guidance of the Spirit, read the signs of the times, and used his personal gifts, relationships, education and experience to be faithful to God’s call to service." (Adopted from, cdpgeneralate.org, 'Founders')

Global Connections                 Volume 9, Issue 3    We Are One! Sister Mary Francis Fletcher Our community, the Sisters of Divine Providence, is almost 175 years old!  Throughout our history, we have carried on the mission given to us by our founders in those early years.  We have been committed to loving witness in community and to social outreach and compassionate service in response to “the signs of the times”.  We have stretched ourselves as we expanded from our German foundation to new continents and countries, to new languages and cultures.  In that process we have sought, through our charism and spirituality, in fidelity to our founders’ legacy, to be unified and to celebrate our diversity.  As a community we recognize the fruits of new life, growth, healing and strength which others have experienced through our solidarity with them and in our commitment to truth and justice. More recently, over the past three decades, we have explored God’s call to mission today, as we continued to live our vows in community, in the midst of the changing realities of our world, and in response to the cries of the earth and people in need.  All of us have been tested in our vocation, in our ordinary daily lives, in our call “to live as Jesus did, striving always to do God’s will”.  We have celebrated our charism, lived into our mission, and grown in trust of God’s love and providence.  Today, we continue asking how we are called, all of us together, to be and to become, at this time of our shared journey.  Our world has become a global village and our understanding of the earth has broadened with recognition of our tiny space in this vast universe.  The developments and evolution around us, the growing social needs for justice and peace, and realties within our community, tell us – it is time again to change! .................... read the whole, please see the attachment ........................  

Intercultural Visioning Ministry Commission(IVMC)'s in Person meeting was held at Villa Mater Dei in Rome, from June 24 - 28, 2025.                    The commission focused on finalizing materials about developing and opening of the Congregational intercultural ministries. The commission members also had the opportunity to visit the ministries of the Saint'Egidio community and the Sisters of Kkottongne and participate in their ministries for two days during the meeting.

      Trinity Sunday, 2025 Dear Sisters and Associates, Trinity Sunday is the great feast of relationship.  Our God, triune in nature, is all about community, about collaboration, about presence.  Our community also calls this Providence Sunday, a day we recognize that our God is radically personal and present, providing for us, inviting us into this communion of love among the Father, the Son and the Spirit.  Often when we think of Trinity we think of Mystery, and mystery is not fully or totally understood.  I’m not a theologian and I don’t pretend to be one or able to explain the Trinity.  But what I do know is our God is with us.  We belong to God.  We’re connected to God at the very core and essence of our being.  We live our lives as Providence people; we learn and grow together, we trust that Providence leads us in good times and challenging times.  In moments of grace when we truly sense God, as well as those times when we don’t, God is still there.  God accompanies us and wants to be in this deep relationship with us.  How do we maintain that relationship in our lives?  I think it takes listening—a special kind of listening—a listening with our heart to hear the tenderness of God speaking to us.  When we do this deep listening, it changes us, transforms us, invites us to have a tenderness not only toward our own community or family, but toward all our brothers and sisters, thus creating a circle of love and relationship in our world.  Our mission, as co-creators with God, is to bring God’s love and grace to the world—to make the face of Providence more visible.  Practically speaking, what might that mean?  Because God is relationship, is Love, the Trinity demands of us to be available to others, to be a loving and life-giving gift to them.  Trinity asks us to stand alongside people in their pain, to cry with them in their grief, to rejoice with them when they have good news, to stand up against oppressive systems that dehumanize people.  Our Triune God invites us to shine the light of justice on those who misuse power, to those who tell lies and falsehoods, to speak up for those whose voices are silenced.  Why?  Because we are made in the image of this Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and this model of “relationship” is about community and communion, about collaboration and presence.  On this Trinity Sunday, may we ask ourselves:  What can I do for others so that our world is permeated with compassion, mutuality, joy and peace?  In the ways that we are community for each other, how will we live into God’s providence together?  May our Triune God accompany us on this journey! Sr. Barbara McMullen, Congregational Leader

image: pixabay.com     +. Come, Holy Spirit,  Breathe new life into your people.Show us the true meaning of the gospel,  and enkindle our hearts with a love that will transform our lives.Grant us the unity for which Jesus prayed - now and forever.  Amen.  from 'People's Comanion to the Breviary'

Planned for May 18-31, 2025, the Congregation's international program "Interculturality: A Gift to the World," kicked off on May 18 at the Korean Provincial Education Hall. We pray that the 20 participants from Germany, the United States, Peru, and South Korea will have a restorative time of expanded understanding and experience of interculturalism among us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJro6nUYdV4 For more updates, please visit the Generalate's Facebook page... go to: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552316260348

photo from Vatican news May 8, 2025   Dear Sisters and Associates, I greet you from Rome, where I have been blessed to be at the time of an election of a new Pope!  We had just finished the Liturgy at the end of the UISG Conference when news came that there was white smoke from the Vatican!   I was supposed to meet Sisters Yessica Amaro Cáceres, Cecilia Sungjoo Hong, and Maria Youngmi Kim to go to dinner.  We all went instead to the Vatican.  Because Sister Yessica knew some people and because I was walking with my cane after my foot troubles earlier this year, we were able to get into the front of St. Peter’s Square and they even gave me a chair!  I literally had a “front row seat.” When the balcony doors opened for our new Pope, I was so shocked, surprised, and very happy that for the first time in Catholic history we have an American Pope.  It was so moving to see him standing there and all the people cheering.  He seemed to be very moved himself.   When I heard the name he chose, Leo XIV, I was again moved to tears.  The legacy of Leo XIII, as we know, is such a part of our dear founder’s life and times.  So significant that he chose this name!  He too sees the importance of reading the “signs of the times.”  To be focused on the social issues of the day and to be justice minded, as were his predecessors, Leo XIII and Francis, speaks to us, as daughters of Ketteler.  The new Pope calls us to be bridges of love and encounter, to be open to receive everyone, and to be a synodal church.   We, Sisters of Divine Providence and our Associates around the globe, congratulate Pope Leo XIV and promise our prayers for him.  As Bishop Ketteler’s daughters we resonate with his values and continue to look for ways to be a moral voice for justice wherever we are, wherever we serve.  May we all, Sisters and Associates of Divine Providence, be joined as one in this historic moment in our church.    I send these greetings with love, Sister Barbara

photo from Vatican news   A Prayer for the Pope Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to your shepherd a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your Church into a sacrament of unity, love and peace for all the world. Amen.