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  The 174th anniversary Mass commemorating the foundation of the Congregation was celebrated at the Mainz Motherhouse Chapel, presided over by Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz Diocese. Attending the Mass were Sisters from the German Province, members of the Congregation's leadership team participating in the CLB meeting scheduled to begin on September 30th, Provincials and Councilors from the German, US, and Korean Provinces, the Superior of the Peru Mission, and friends of the German Province. This Mass was a time of deep prayer with our Founders, Bishop Ketteler, and Mother Marie, especially for the Congregation and ourselves, who are in a process of change considering the demands of the times and the reality of the Congregation. We ask you to pray with us for Bishop Ketteler, Mother Marie, for the sake of ourselves, and the Congregation!   The chalice used by the Bishop Ketteler

Official Visitation to the German Province 1 The official visitation to the German Province began on September 25 with a meeting with the Sisters of the Mainz community. On the second day, there was a meeting with the provincial leadership team and a visit to the Sisters of the Aschsffenburg community.

September 29, 2025 Dear Sisters and Associates, Happy Foundation Day!  As you read this, the Congregational Leadership Team will be in Mainz, Germany celebrating our 174 years as a congregation!  It will be a special celebration with the Bishop of Mainz, along with Provincials and Council members who are participating in the Congregational Leadership Board meeting to follow the next day.  We will be remembering each of you in our prayers during these days. Of course, when I think of Foundation Day I think of Bishop Ketteler and Mother Marie and how they gave themselves to the mission of the Gospel.  I think of those first German women who were sent to serve and educate the rural girls and to serve the economically poor people of their times.  I wonder if there was any plan or if they were just supposed to find a place where there was a need and try to meet it.  There were no institutions then, no guidelines to consult, no best practices.  These first sisters went equipped with their passion for mission and trust in God.  They jumped in with both feet, so to speak, and gave it everything they had.  What about us today?  We’re just regular people whom God continues to call.  God invites us, through the lure of Providence, to give our whole hearts and jump in with both feet.  I imagine, as the little community of Sisters grew, even though hardships may have come their way, they didn’t give up.  They continued to show up, for each other in support, and for those to whom they were sent.  They responded with their time, talent, compassion, voices, hopes, dreams and love.  Fidelity is the word that comes to me.  Crossing an ocean, risking the unknown, settling in a foreign country, a different language, culture and customs, and yet they came, faithful to the call.  That kind of fidelity requires a steadfast commitment to those values which directed and defined them.  I think those courageous women grew as a result of the changes that taxed and tested their tolerance and led them to find God where God was, rather than where they thought God should be.  I copied this quote but I don’t know who said it.  “Fidelity lies in making whatever changes are necessary to bring us from the ideals out of which we have always operated, in order to achieve those ideals toward which we have always striven.  Fidelity manifests the truest part of us in process to the whole of us.”  What would Bishop Ketteler and Mother Marie say to us today?  Perhaps they would tell us that fidelity to Providence rests in consistently moving toward what will bring us more and more to wholeness of heart, clarity of mind and integrity of soul.  As we live out the legacy of our founders, let us review our own values, our own commitments, our very trust in the God of Providence whose dreams for us never fail.  Let us be seekers whose heart stretches for the truth and acts for justice.  Let us do the hard work of community so we may seek truth in light of each other’s wisdom.   Let us continue showing up, with trust that we are enough.  Everything we have and are is for the service of the kindom of God, of humanity, and of creation.  We give what we have of ourselves.  And God makes that enough.  Blessings to each of you on this Foundation Day! Sister Barbara McMullen, Congregational Leader  

CDP Allison Park  & CDP Korea, photo by Sr. Joni Luna, SP   Women of Providence in Collaboration(WPC) Gethering of Sisters under 60 0r those wh have entered within the last 10 years was held at the Loyola University Chicago Retreat Center, September 5-8, 2025.   The purpose of this workshop was rooted in our shared charism of Providence, we will nurture a foundation on which to strengthen our relationship with each other and our sense of community and unity so that we can contitiue making God's Providence visible for our world. About around 40 sisters were atteneded.   

  WPC Luncheon Meeting in Atlanta The Women of  Provicence in Collaboration (WPC) Luncheon Meeting  was held in Atlanta on August 13, 2025, during the LCWR  Assembly. Sister Mary Stanco, HM, Director of WPC, presided over the meeting, where she inquired about the current status of WPC members and shared future plans. Sister Mary also took time to say farewell, as she will soon be stepping down from her position. We express our gratitude for her hard work and pray for God's blessings upon her!      

  2025 LCWR Annual Assembly The 2025 LCWR Annual Assembly was held in Atlanta, Georgia, from August 12 to 15. Under the theme “Hope Unbroken: in God's Promise,” the assembly provided an opportunity for the members of the LCWR who are living in this era to reflect on and discuss the various challenges they face. For more information, please visit the LCWR Facebook page.   https://www.facebook.com/lcwr.org

  Jesus’ transfiguration is a call to great hope. Image and more reading, go to:    https://wau.org/resources/article/our_destiny_in_christ    

    The CLT had the opportunity to meet with the newly appointed Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, and introduce our Congregation to him.   ................................................ Prayer for a Bishop "O God, you have chosen your servant, Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, to be a shepherd of your flock. Give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he build your Church as a sign of salvation for the world. Amen." .............................................          

    "I reconize the guidance of heaven so evident in all things." -Mother Marie de la Roche - ............................ ............................ " Praise the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever; Praise the God of gods; for his mercy endures forever; Praise the Lord of lords; for his mercy endures forever;" (Psalm 136: 1-3)    

  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)