S. Mary Lou Sullivan, SUSC S. Kathleen Corrigan, SUSC
Dear Friends in Mission,
Rejoice! I say it again, Rejoice! It is our congregation’s 200th Jubilee!
It was a daunting task finding a cover to celebrate this milestone in this issue of Response. We hope you become inspired by the striking one which was chosen. The spiral, though decorative, is also known to have powerful spiritual meaning: Growth, Connection, Change, and Journeys are just a few of the meanings behind the spiral. A spiral creates movement; it draws you in and draws you out, it is not stagnant. The center of the spiral is said to represent the movement of the energy of life. This is the call of Holy Union: To be at the heart of the world revealing God’s love.
In this edition of Response, you will find the start of the spiral in the story of our Holy Union “Beginnings” in Douai, France. The circle continues its outward growth into the ever-widening international congregation we are today. It is this gift of internationality that the United States Area celebrated with our recent Bicentennial Project.
The spiral is also used to represent the sun and the marking of seasons. In November, as the last of summer turned to fall, the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls had the sisters gathering and offering shared memories and prayer at the various Holy Union Sisters' gravesites of those who have gone before us. In this issue we also honor two of our sisters who have recently died and joined the Holy Union Communion of Saints; S. Laurette DeChamplain, SUSC and S. Gertrude Paré, SUSC.
The Holy Union spiral is ever expanding, and it is your generosity, support and collaboration that allows our sisters to minister to those most in need. As we continue into this New Year of celebration, we thank you for taking this journey with us.
May God bless you and keep you.
S.
Mary Lou Sullivan, SUSC S. Kathleen Corrigan, SUSC
DIRECTOR’S LETTER
Kenneth Gustin Director of Mission Advancement and Communcation
This is a significant issue of Response. It propels the Congregation into the 200th anniversary of its founding, their Bicentenary Jubilee Year!
The Holy Union Sisters are not the oldest women’s religious congregation, nor are they the largest. They are simply one of many congregations of Catholic Sisters who have dedicated their lives to the care and support of the most vulnerable among us. Over two centuries their number totals in the thousands. Their ministries have been shaped by a single guiding directive from their constitutions, “you are called to be at the heart of the world revealing Gods love”. That call is enabled and enlivened by their charism of “union.” And in this, their 200th Jubilee year, it would be hard to find a more appropriate lodestar for our nation and our world.
I am entering my seventh year as Director of Mission Advancement for the Sisters, and reflecting on that time, some things have come into sharp focus. These Sisters are not bent on converting people to our faith. Nor are they attempting to push people towards an ideology. Neither do they seek power or influence. They are here to reveal God’s love to those in need and stand in solidarity with them. And they always provide prayers and encouragement. Sometimes these efforts are on a large scale and sometimes they are a simple act by a single person which reminds those being helped that God loves them.
I have the honor of opening the envelopes you send us with donations, large and small. You often include a note of gratitude remembering the kindness of a Sister and the impact she had on your life. I have also had the privilege of recording, editing and distributing over four years of monthly podcasts, listening to stories and experiences from their lives across a broad array of ministries. Many of the stories leave me struggling to hold back tears. The beauty of their work and their lives often overwhelms me.
Every day I thank God for allowing me to do this job. They have helped me get my priorities straight just by the example of their lives. They have had an enormous impact on me personally, and clearly on many of you as well. Turns out, revealing God’s love changes people.
If only we had more of them!
Thank you for your kind support of the Sisters, and by extension, all those they continue to serve as they begin their third century revealing God’s love.
Kenneth J. Gustin
OUR BEGINNINGS
Article by S. Carol Regan, SUSC
F& John Baptist Debrabant Douai, France
rom the Heart of Douai to the Heart of the World is the theme of our congregation’s Bicentennial Jubilee. The theme draws on our Constitutions (called “to be at the heart of the world … “, Article 1) and our beginnings in Douai, France. But what was the “heart” of that city?
By 1824, the heart of Douai for four single women, all needleworkers, was a small, narrow house on the Place de la Prairie within Saint Jacques Parish. Near the Hôtel-Dieu, Douai’s poorhouse, the house was not in a choice neighborhood. The four women shared a common life, plied their trade, and taught the neighborhood girls needlework skills, thus giving them a marketable skill. They prayed together, attended daily Mass, and taught catechism to the local children; each Sunday evening, they hosted a prayer gathering for parishioners. As was customary then, a priest assigned to St. Jacques Parish offered the women spiritual guidance as well as financial assistance.
In 1826, the priest who had supported the group left the parish and the young Father Jean-Baptiste Debrabant arrived. Ordained in 1825, Father Debrabant’s brief first assignment had been as parish priest in a rural village. His success there caught his Bishop’s attention, and he was transferred to St. Jacques Parish in the historic, sophisticated city of Douai. Once there, he was asked to guide the group of needleworkers; he agreed to this.
Life continued as usual in the house at Place de la Prairie until a young girl, who was not a child of the
neighborhood, was sent there to perfect her needlework skills. A lawyer’s daughter, 13-year-old Eulalie Ramon had recently completed her education in one of Douai’s best schools. Her parents’ decision to send her to the needleworkers’ workshop horrified her; she was humiliated to find herself among the girls of the neighborhood and resolved to escape as soon as possible. But Father Debrabant was now engaged with the needleworkers and the neighborhood youngsters. Aware of Eulalie’s education and of her discontent, he invited her to offer basic classes to her companions. Her acceptance was the beginning of Eulalie’s lifelong engagement with what would become our congregation. At the same time, the realization of Father Debrabant’s vison that “only in a solid Christian education could I see a better future for religion and society” (JBD, circular letter attached to 1842 Constitutions) began to take shape. Thus was the life and mission of the Holy Union Sisters born in northern France, in a country struggling to recover from the ravages of a violent revolution.
Middle-class citizens walk down a Douai street in the 1800’s (from a contemporary postcard).
Hotel Dieu, Douai, France, as it appears today, used to serve as a poor house
Holy Union grew out of a group of 19th century needleworkers like these.
HOLY UNION TODAY
From a few young women practicing needle-work in the church basement in Douai, France to a global footprint two hundred years later. Here is a quick summary of how far Holy Union spirituality and works have spread.
Article by S. Nancy Stiles, SUSC
Franco-Belge Area (France and Belgium)
The founding of the Holy Union Sisters took place in the present-day Franco-Belge Area in 1826. This Area now has 12 Sisters who dedicate themselves to a ministry of prayer and presence, with those with whom they live and with everyone who visits them. They bear witness to the charism and spirit of Holy Union through their listening and calmness. They are happy to have some of our African Sisters with them, sharing their experiences and resources. They enjoy knowing what is happening in other Areas of the Congregation!
Anglo-Hibernia Area (Great Britain and Ireland)
The Benedictine Fathers welcomed Holy Union Sisters to Bath, England, in the 1860s. The Anglo-Hibernia Area now has 67 Sisters serving in England, Ireland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They express concern about poverty, feelings of exclusion, social media, and the desire for instant responses. They describe themselves as “women of faith, hope, and courage living the Gospel in the reality we find ourselves.” The Sisters of the Anglo-Hibernia Area serve where there is need for compassion and kindness in action.
Argentina Area (Argentina)
Holy Union Sisters arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1884 in response to our Founder’s wish that Sisters “Go to America.” Now, 6 Sisters are motivated and inspired to promote solidarity, reinforce human values, and demonstrate tenderness and kindness. They form a community of life dedicated to serving young people affected by addictive disorders, speaking out against injustice, offering ecumenical spiritual support in Care Centers for the elderly, and helping the homeless. They are experiencing the richness of our international community, with Cameroonian Sisters sharing in life and mission in Argentina.
United States Area (United States)
Expansion in the Americas continued in 1886 with the arrival of Holy Union Sisters in Fall
Sisters in the US Area. Despite challenges due to declining numbers, the US Area remains committed to advocating for those most in need. Sisters participate in various volunteer ministries, including pastoral work, spiritual companionship, tutoring, and serving those
Many Sisters now live in senior living facilities, enabling new community models. There is a renewed sense of the mission of presence— with each other and with the laity among whom they live.
HOLY UNION TODAY
Cameroon Area (Cameroon)
In 1931, 4 Sisters from Europe and the United States founded the first mission in Dschang, Cameroon, in West Africa. The first native Cameroonian sisters joined the Congregation in the late 1970s. Currently, there are 85 professed Sisters and 18 women in initial formation. Their ministries are primarily in education and healthcare. Cameroon is currently experiencing significant sociopolitical challenges. There are 14 missions serving in 7 dioceses, 5 of which are located in conflict zones. The Sisters live out their charism of union amidst the unrest. Cameroonian Sisters also serve in Tanzania, Argentina, and Belgium. They continue to seek opportunities to establish new communities and ministries both within Cameroon and internationally.
Rome, Italy
Tanzania Area (Tanzania)
Tanzania in east Africa is a growing and developing area. Currently, there are 19 professed Sisters, with 15 women in initial formation. Sisters from the AngloHibernia Area began an educational ministry in northern Tanzania during the 1970s. Today, there are 4 communities. Ministries include: a secondary school, a pre-primary and primary school; a center for children with disabilities and their families, which is expanding to include a unit to serve children with autism; parish ministry, including teaching religious education in secondary schools. Tanzania also welcomes Sisters from Cameroon who assist in the pre-school and work in healthcare. Tanzanian Sisters are prepared to do whatever needs to be done and strive to meet the needs of the Area.
The Congregation’s General Leadership resides in Rome. Four Sisters serve on the General Council: currently 2 from the Anglo-Hibernia Area and 2 from the Area of Cameroon. They are supported by professional staff – both vowed and non-vowed. Leadership is profoundly grateful for the many ways we, Holy Union, stay connected and strengthen each other.
OUR BICENTENARY JUBILEE YEAR PROJECT
A Congregation Call
A Shared Dream
A 200 Year Heritage
A US Area Communal Endeavor
All woven into a reality that is the Heart of Holy Union
God provided all that was needed for a US Area Bicentennial Project: a call, a dream, a bicentenary, and strong community support! A Committee, formed of Sisters Ann Kernan, Carol Regan, and Paula Coelho grasped the dream, assessed available resources, and designed an enrichment program that would address a specific Call to Action issued from the Holy Union Sisters’ Collegial Assembly 2023: inviting a search “for new orientations at all stages of formation that will enable us to respond prophetically to Mission in today’s world.” Within the framework of the Congregation’s Bicentenary Celebration, the Committee seized a unique opportunity to foster on-going formation and at the same time celebrate our charism of Union interculturally.
With the generous support of the US Area Leadership, the blessing of our General Council Members, and the encouragement of the Leaders of the Areas of Tanzania and Cameroon, we joyfully announced the 9-week “US Area Bicentennial Project” that would directly involve 4 Holy Union Sisters from Africa and Holy Union USA.
Our goals were to:
• Deepen our charism of Union
• Foster our gift of internationality
• Develop new relationships
• Gain greater understanding of our respective cultures
• Advance English writing and communication skills
• Engage with the Collegial Assembly 2023 Vision and Calls
• Involve as many US Area Sisters as possible
Although we named the initial beneficiaries as those directly involved in the program, in reality, the fruits of the program reached throughout the Congregation.
We engaged in a year-long process of planning, and from the very beginning the Committee prioritized involving as many Sisters from the US Area as possible, either through prayer or direct volunteer involvement in hospitality, teaching, spirituality, cultural events, and transportation. The enthusiastic support of Sisters, Associates, friends, and staff was key to the tremendous success of the program. Contributed In-Kind Services amounted to over 180 travel hours: drivers and fuel, as well as over 140 teaching hours, which were all encompassed within inestimable acts of kindness. In addition, St. Anthony’s Parish in Taunton provided the classroom space for all sessions.
(l to r) Sisters Eugenia Mshana, Veronique Metiendjo, Alice Michael, Scholastica Mhea, and Shallotte Kum visit each other in New York.
Article by Sr. Paula Coelho, SUSC
OUR BICENTENARY JUBILEE YEAR PROJECT
Who were the participants? 2 Sisters from Tanzania and 2 from Cameroon, all of whom are finally professed and younger than 50 years old. The Committee specifically offered the program to this age group as an opportunity for enrichment and deepening bonds of belonging to the Congregation. The participants could potentially be chosen for leadership roles in the Congregation in the future, and holding the program in the US gave all of us the opportunity to build intercultural and intergenerational relationships that would last a lifetime.
After a detailed application process, including an essay and Zoom interview that helped the committee assess the applicants’ viability for the program, the Committee chose Sisters Eugenia Mshana and Scholastica Mhea from Tanzania and Véronique Metiendjo and Shallotte Kum from Cameroon. The Sisters chosen were involved in ministries in their home countries and engaged in outreach to their local communities. These 4 Sisters made marked sacrifices to be able to leave their responsibilities in others’ hands and travel over 24 hours to arrive in Boston, and ultimately to be welcomed to the Holy Union communities in Taunton, MA and Pawtucket, RI. Designed as a truly intercultural experience, the two communities had one Sister from each country for a portion of the nine weeks in the US. This arrangement not only gave the local communities special time of sharing community life and prayer, it also promoted bonding between the Sisters themselves who represented two distinct African cultures.
(l to r) S. Veronique visits with S. Louise Gabrielle Bourget at River Falls.
(l to r). Sisters Scholastica, Veronique, Eugenia, and Shallotte arrive at our Taunton house.
S. Scholastica visits Plimoth Plantation in MA.
(l to r) S. Lorraine Boisvert and S. Eugenia enjoy our Jubilarian luncheon at St. Patrick’s Hall in Somerset, MA.
1826-2026
The experience was well planned so that the 4 participants were engaged in a variety of activities that included 3 days per week of English sessions (focused on Advanced Writing and Communication Skills), 1 day per week of Spirituality, and every Friday or weekend held trips to historical sites or visits with all of the Sisters of the US Area, including a special tour of New York capped off by an early Thanksgiving Day dinner. Every detail was planned and re-planned if needs arose, and unexpected joy popped up everywhere as Eugenia, Schola, Véronique, and Shallotte danced, sang, and drummed their way through each day. Early on, a bongo drum was gifted, and the bongo was a fixture everywhere!
With all our planning and prayer, we knew the program would be successful, but we never dreamed it would be so enjoyable and enriching for everyone involved. Our 4 Sisters from Africa returned home filled with gratitude and hopes of how they can share the fruits of their US experience. We in the United States have renewed our Congregation dream and deepened our charism of Union. Each of us shared words and ideas, food and fashion, hopes and fears, wisdom and dreams. All of us have been deeply touched by our experience and encounter. We are sisters, young and aging, dreamers and doers, ever faithful to our call to live the charism of Holy Union and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus.
(l to r) Sisters Ann Kernan, Carol Regan, and Paula Coelho (the US Area Project Committee) enjoy the farewell gathering for our African Sisters.
Truly, the 9 weeks, August 25-October 28, 2025 united us forever. We are one Congregation, a union of hearts profoundly deepened, challenged and changed, by God’s amazing grace when together we dared to dream. Our lived experience brought to life and light what it means to search “for new orientations at all stages of formation that will enable us to respond prophetically to Mission in today’s world.”
(I to r) Sisters Veronique, Scholastica, Shallotte, and Eugenia prepare to dance at our Jubilarian celebration.
(l to r) Sisters Veronique, Eugenia, Shallotte, and Scholastica hold a cake welcoming them to the US Area.
WE REMEMBERED.
WE CELEBRATED.
Article by S. Joan Guertin, SUSC
As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of our Congregation, we are very mindful of all the holy women who have gone before us. To honor their memory and dedication, prayer services were held in November at the cemeteries where Holy Union Sisters are interred.
Honoring those who have gone before us has a long history, which traces back to the Aztec and other pre-historic cultures of Mesoamerica, where rituals honored death as a continuation of life.
When the Spanish arrived, these indigenous traditions were blended with Catholic observances, particularly All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This fusion evolved into the modern celebration, the Day of the Dead, which takes place on November 1st and 2nd and is a joyful time to remember and celebrate deceased loved ones.
The Church honors them on All Saints Day and All Souls Day. We remember to celebrate! That is what we did in Arlington, Concord, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, North Attleboro, and Taunton, MA and also in Baltimore, MD, Long Island, Queens, NY, and Pawtucket, RI.
We prayed and shared fond memories of some of the women with whom we had lived in community and ministry. We remembered the ups and the downs, the joys and the sorrows.
In our Founder’s circular letter of 1842, we read “You have received that name (Holy Union) only that you may form all together a union of heart, mind, and affection.”
Standing in those cemeteries we were very conscious of that union with all the women, the communion of Holy Union Saints, not only in the United States, but throughout the Holy Union world.
We remembered. We celebrated.
St. John Chrysostom’s words that were on the cover of our prayer service booklet will remind us of our union. “They whom we love and lose are no longer where they were before. They are now wherever we are.”
(l to r) Sisters Ann Kernan, Mary Bridgette McGettigan, and Theresa Horvath visit St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
(l to r). Sisters Eileen Davey, Ann Kernan, Nancy Stiles, Rita Theresa Goulet, Bea Rogers, Fran Cavey, Kathleen Corrigan visit St. Mary Cemetery, N. Attleboro, MA.
(l to r) Sisters Fran Cavey, Mary Catherine Burns, Mary Catherine Duerr, and Marie Baldi visit St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
(l to r) Holy Union Associate Kathleen Shatus, S. Helen McPeak, and S. Paula Coelho visit St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
A large group of Sisters and Associates visit St. Francis Cemetery, Taunton, MA.
(l to r) Sisters Pat Heath, Bernadette Sullivan, Barbara Walsh visit St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
(l to r) S. Marilyn Bearne, Associate Barbara Gerraughty, Associate Janet Britland, S. Carol Regan, visit St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
A large group of Sisters and Associates visit St. Francis Cemetery, Taunton, MA.
IN LOVING MEMORY
S. LAURETTE DECHAMPLAIN, SUSC
September 24, 1922 – November 24, 2025
S. Laurette De Champlain, the oldest Holy Union Sister in the United States entered eternal life at the age of 103. She recently celebrated her 85th Jubilee as a Holy Union Sister.
S. Laurette’s love of teaching spanned over 50 years. A remarkable teacher of French and history she taught at a number of Holy Union schools across the Northeast. In addition to her teaching ministry, she was an avid sports fan and served as the official scorer for several High School sport teams. In 1994 she began to volunteer in the Coyle and Cassidy Development Office and continued there until she retired in 2007.
Her joy of teaching led her to accompany her students on cultural tours of France, and she served the Congregation as a translator at several international meetings of Holy Union Sisters. One of her fondest memories was being invited to Cameroon to teach English to the Holy Union Sisters in formation.
S. Laurette now knows the fullness of eternal life with the God she loved so well throughout her long and happy life.
S. GERTRUDE PARÉ, SUSC
July 21, 1937 – July 22, 2025
S. Gertrude Paré, died suddenly one day after her 88th birthday. S. Gert was a Holy Union Sister for 71 years.
S. Gert had a passion for working with young children and as a teacher and principal she taught in elementary schools throughout New England for over 4 decades. Later, S. Gert served in a variety of roles, including as secretary at Saints Medical Center, Lowell, MA; curator of the Holy Union Heritage House and welcomed sisters to the Bethany House of Hospitality. She also served as a member of the Board of the Country Day School of the Holy Union, and finally as an assistant in the Mission Advancement Office in Fall River, MA. As a gifted and talented photographer, she offered her gift becoming the “official” photographer for the Congregation’s General Chapter in France in 1999 and helping to create the Holy Union Sisters photo Directory. Many Holy Union celebrations are remembered through her pictures.
Article 28 from the Holy Union Sisters Constitutions is a fitting description of S. Gert's life: Joyfully sharing our time, talents and resources with our community to those whom we are sent, we live our evangelical poverty in a spirit of gratitude.
