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Volume 1, Issue 1
Fall 2010
Bishop Joseph A.Galante Meets With Women
Religious
On Saturday, November 13,
the Religious Women of the
Diocese of Camden met
with Bishop Galante at Holy
Family Parish in Sewell.
Attended by over a hundred
Sisters from various Religious
Congregations who minister
in the Diocese, the day began with Mass for the feast
of Mother Cabrini followed
by a continental breakfast.
After a brief introduction by
Sister Mary J. McGarrity,
IHM, the Bishop’s Delegate
for Women Religious, Bishop
addressed the Sisters.
During his remarks,
Bishop shared his vision for
the re-evangelization of the
Diocese. Shortly after his
arrival in 2004, he realized
that due to the aging of the
clergy, reconfiguration of
Inside this issue:
the existing parishes was
necessary. The whole
purpose of the merger
process is to revitalize
parish life and to look to
the future. Bishop emphasized that the mergers have only one goal:
namely, to revitalize the
faith life of the parishes.
Some of the topics Caption describing picture or graphic.
that were covered during the Q/A session that
longer response were life
followed were: the accountlong faith formation and the
ability called for during the
ineffectiveness of parish
merger process; the NCCB’s
schools in involving the total
stance on the immigration
parish community and espebill presently before concially the parents, in living
gress; the need for support
out the sacramental life of
of women’s vocations to
the children.
religious life; and the acculturation needed by some
During his comments on
congregations.
religious life, Bishop drew on
his long experience as Vicar
Topics which generated a
Retirement Fund
2
New Convents
3
New Sisters
3
Contacts
4
Personnel Policy
4
Save the Dates:
World Date for
Consecrated Life
And
Jubilee Celebration
February 5
Farewell dear Sisters...
thank you for your years of service
We wish to thank the following Sisters for their service to
the Camden Diocese and to
assure them of our continued prayerful support:
Sisters M. Annie Thomas
Kandoth and Mary Grace De
Joseph of the Daughters of
Our Lady of Marcy;
Immaculate Conception;
Sisters Ruthann Croley,
Janice Urbanec and Joanne
Wallace of the IHM’s
Sisters Maria Louisa Berrout
and Maria Berrout of the
Missionaries of the Most
Pure Virgin Mary;
Sisters Virginia Kurek, Irene
Jusko, Joanna Sopala and
Normita Dillera of the Little
Servant Sisters of the
Sister Teresa Arac of the
Medical Mission Sisters;
(cont’d - page 3)
Holy Family
Sewell
11:00 am
PAGE 2
WOMEN RELIGIOUS
DIOCESE OF CAMDEN
Backgrounder: Retirement Fund for Religious
ment savings, rising health-care
costs, and declining income.
Traditionally, women and men
religious worked for small stipends that furnished only the
basics of daily living. As a result,
a
majorit y
of relig i o u s
communities
lack adeq u a t e
savings
for retirement. At
the same
time, the
cost
of
care continues to increase, especially as older religious now outnumber younger religious. Today, there are nearly 35,000 religious past age 70 living in the
United States. In 2009, the average annual cost for their care
was over $36,000 per person.
Skilled care averaged $56,000
per person. Currently, the income of younger religious supports a large portion of eldercare expenses. In the coming
years, however, this will no
longer be the case as more religious reach retirement age and
leave compensated ministry. The
annual appeal for the Retirement
Fund for Religious, which is
taken up each December in most
U.S. Catholic parishes, provides
elderly religious. More than $65
vital support to religious instimillion has supported efforts by
tutes in meeting current and fureligious institutes to stabilize
ture retirement needs. Since
retirement savings and to de1989, the National Religious Revelop comprehensive retirement
tirement Office has distributed
strategies. Approximately 95
over $582 million to religious
percent of donations to the Reinstitutes across
tirement Fund
the nation, infor Religious
cluding almost Last year the Diocese of Camden
aid senior reli$517 million to contributed $213,007.93 to this
gious.
help underwrite collection
the direct care of
[email protected]
In 1988, Catholic
bishops in the United States
launched the Retirement Fund
for Religious (RFR) to address
the significant lack of retirement
funding for Catholic sisters,
brothers, and priests in religious
orders. The National Religious
Retirement Office (NRRO), formerly the Tri-Conference Retirement Office, was established to
coordinate the annual collection
and to distribute the proceeds of
this collection to religious institutes in need.
The crisis in retirement funding
can be attributed to three primary factors: insufficient retire-
Sharing in the Care
The NRRO also coordinates an
extensive network of volunteer
consultants, including experts in
elder care and financial planning, to help religious institutes
plan for the ongoing care of senior members.
In 2010, The Daughters of Our
Lady of the Sacred Hear, Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy,
Hospitaller Order of St. John of
God Little Servant Sisters of the
IC, and the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus
received financial assistance
made possible by the RFR.
Men and women who serve in
this Diocese but are headquartered elsewhere also benefit.
In addition to sponsoring the annual appeal, the National Religious Retirement Office offers
assessment tools, educational
programming, services, and resources that enable religious institutes to evaluate and prepare
for long-term retirement needs.
+++
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PAGE 3
New people . . .
New places. . .
Welcome Sisters
New Convents
We extend a warm welcome to the
following Sisters of St. Joseph of
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia: Sisters
Alicia Perna, Julia Fertsch, Mary
Louise (Marty) Gentilini, Clair
McNichol and Sheila Holly.
Sisters Sheila Murphy and Patricia
Tomlin, SSJ are living at . . .
Notre Dame de la Mer Convent
2900 Pacific Avenue, Wildwood, NJ
Sister Sheila Holly, SSJ will be living
at. . .
And to Sisters Louise Gorka and
Margaret Ann Noone of the Sisters
of Mercy.
St. Joseph Convent
14 N. Jerome
Margate, NJ 08402
During our meeting on November
13, one of the Sisters remarked that
one person thought that SSJ stood
for Sisters of South Jersey. Certainly,
we are all in a sense SSJ’s.
Avenue
Sisters Anne Lellis, Sandra Teevans,
Kathleen Aherne and Jeanne Williams, OSF Allegany, are living at
St. Clare Convent
136 Glover Ave.
Mt. Ephraim, NJ 08059
Meeting of Sisters and Bishop
(continued from page 1)
Given his experience in Rome, as the
to each congregation begin the heart
Undersecretary for the Congregation
of the person called who then recogfor Religious, Bishop Galante offered
nizes that a certain community lives out
some penetrating insights.
He reof the same charism/gift that inspires
minded the assembly that Religious
them. Bishop called for the Sisters to be
were challenged to go back to their
women of initiative, creativity and couroriginal charism.
age in living out and
For
him
this
renewing their founmeans, the way
der’s charismas it
“(Wisdom) Passing into holy
in which each
applies to today’s
religious institute
society and espesouls from age to age, she
responds to the
cially to the
Capproduces friends of God and
Gospel. FurtherChurch
of
tion
more, vocations
South Jersey.
Farewell
Bishop listened attentively and responded with clarity and compassion as
each Sister posed her question or
shared her comments.
+
We celebrate the entrance into glory of:
Sister Margaret DiNunzio, DM;
Sister Teresita Valenti, DM;
Mother M. Immaculate Heart Coyne,
O.P (Cloistered)
Sisters Veronica Pawlak, LSIC;
Sister Marie A. Scheer, SSJ
(continued from page 1)
Sister Anne Ebersold of the Marianites
of the Holy Cross. Sister served as administrator of Mater Dei Nursing Home.
Her retirement signals the withdrawal
of the Congregation from the diocese.
Franciscan Sisters of Allegany - Frances
Miritello, Sisters Elizabeth O’Leary, and
Antoinette
Pellegrino;
Our gratitude and prayers go with you
Sister. You are remembered by all you
served
Sister Martha Pooler;
Sisters of St. Francis
of Philadelphia, PA
Sisters Eucharista Johnson, Sisters of St.
Francis of the Neumann Communities;
Dominican Sister of
Hope, Sister Christine
Hartnett and the Sisters of Mercy,
Sisters Margaret Bulfin and Marie
Bernadette Pape.
Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Nyeri,
Sisters Florence Waceke, Robertina
Kivasu and Mary Philip.
Sisters of St. Joseph: Sisters Joan Lyons, Barbara Worley, Maria de Sales
Vasey, Marie St. Leger Bernadette
Carlin, and Albertine Conway.
Personnel Policy
DIOCESE OF CAMDEN
Sister Mary J. McGarrity, IHM
Delegate for Women Religious
631 Market St.
Camden, NJ 08102
Introduction
Phone:856-583-2841
Fax:: 856– 338-0826
[email protected]
“I will espouse you to me forever; I will espouse you in right
and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in
fidelity, and you shall know the Lord. “ Hosea 2:21,22
We’re on the Web
www.camdendiocese.org
Check out the section on Women
Religious on the Diocesan web site.
The presence and witness of vowed religious in the Diocese of Camden is essential to the faith-life and mission
of the Church. As a Diocese, we welcome each religious
and extend our deep respect and appreciation for the
gift of her consecrated life, the charism of her congregation, and her ministry among us.
We also take this opportunity to recognize and affirm
the presence of vowed religious in our midst whose life
and ministry do not involve a formal Ministerial Agreement with the Diocese of Camden. These include members of contemplative communities, some religious who
serve in public institutions or who provide direct community service to the poor, and others who minister at
centers of spirituality. We recognize also religious who
are engaged in direct congregational ministry, others
who contribute in their retirement years through volunteer service and prayerful intercession, and a few who
are engaged in personal renewal or the care of family
members.
E-mail me your pictures.
Personnel Policy for Women Religious
Let us give thanks
Prayer of Atonement,
And our selfishness and sin humbles us.
that the light of Christ in our midst is
Renewal, and Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, we offer you our
leading us to a new day of Gospel
repentant prayer of thanks, knowing
compassion wherein our heart
can be made to overflow
O God, you love the poor and dispossessed.
in love for those who hunger
When you sent your beloved among us,
for bread,
Jesus came not into the world of the
for love
powerful, but into the impoverished
and
streets and hearts of his time.
for dignity.”
This Thanksgiving, your Spirit moves
-Dr. Edward Francis Gabriele,
among us once again.
from “The Blessed Frederick
Ozanam”
We feel the power of Christ in our
midst.
For all that has been,
We hear his call to us to feed the poor,
For all that will be,
to clothe the naked, to love the
unloved.
For the grace of my vocation, I thank you, O God.
We give thanks!