19 May 2012
Welcome Sister Deisi Maria!

Our youngest community member, Sister Deisi Maria from Canoas Province, Brazil, arrived at Casa Madre on February 15, 2012. The arrival of this energetic and enthusiastic community member brought great joy and happiness to the Casa Madre Community. Sr. Deisi Maria is delighted to be part of the International Community and to be living at the center of the church.On Saturday, February 17, 2012, she was already fortunate enough to attend the Consistory of 22 Cardinals presided over by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica. One of these was a Cardinal from Brazil, Joao Braz de Aviz who heads the office for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Sister Deisi Maria will join Sister Maria Moses from Korea and will attend a year of spirituality courses at the Angelicum. We wish Sister Deisi Maria blessings on her studies and many more surprises in Rome.


Arrival of Our New Community Member

On January 26th, 2012, the Casa Madre Community warmly welcomed Sr. Maria Moses Kim from the Incheon Province, Korea. For the past eleven months Sister Maria Moses had been staying with our Sisters in the Delegation of Stella Maris, Kettering, in England and learning English. She is grateful to Sr. Marion and the Sisters in Kettering for all the assistance and support she received during her stay. While a community member in Casa Madre she will continue her language studies and will participate in one year of Spirituality Courses in Rome. The Casa Madre community is already experiencing her affectionate and gentle ways of reaching out to others. We wish Sister Maria Moses all the best in her studies and a wonderful stay at Casa Madre!



Hearty Welcome to Sr. Ethel Maria from Coesfeld

The Casa Madre Community is enjoying the presence of Sr. Ethel Maria, from the Coesfeld Province, Germany. She arrived here on December 28, 2011, and will stay with us for a month as a part of her tertiate program in preparation for her perpetual profession. Under the guidance of Sr. Maria Julindis, the General Assistant from Germany, Sr. Ethel Maria is learning much about life at the Generalate and the center of the Church. She has already had various enriching experiences being in Rome for the Christmas season and was one of the privileged ones to attend the Eucharist celebration in St. Peter’s on the Feast of the Epiphany. She found it fitting to have celebrated Christmas with her local community and continued the octave with the sisters in the motherhouse and then to experience the Universality of the Church on this feastday. We wish Sister Ethel Maria God’s blessings as she prepares for her final commitment to the Lord as a Sister of Notre Dame.

Congregational Fund Committee Meeting in Rome
As indicated in the Congregational Plan introduced by the general government and explained by Sister Mary Kristin, our Superior General, in her letter dated July 15, 2011, a committee has been invited to work on the documents for the Congregational Fund. Our General Chapter 2010 Document stated that we would establish a Congregational Fund for (1) charitable, apostolic and formational projects which advance the mission of the Congregation (former Solidarity Fund) (2) formation and extraordinary expenses in the missions (3) aiding the units in time of natural disasters and (4) providing for future unfunded needs.” Sister Susan Welsby ASC was invited as a speaker on one of the first days and shared with the group her experiences with the Congregational Fund in her own congregation. 
The members of the group are with us in the Generalate from September 19 – 29. Under the guidance of Sister Gina Marie, our treasurer general, they are putting together their knowledge in finances in small group work and plenary sessions and will certainly share the result of their work with the congregation at an opportune time.

Farewell to Sr. Madeline Mary 

On 11th October, 2011, the Casa Madre Community bid farewell to Sr. Madeline Mary Columbro from the Chardon Province, USA. Sister Madeline Mary, being an excellent organist and liturgist, generously shared these abilities with the Casa Madre Community for two years. Sister Madeline did a wonderful job during the General Chapter 2010 with the preparation of multi-lingual liturgies. In her quiet and thoughtful ways she reached out to the Sisters at the Generalate. 
We thank Sr. Madeline Mary for her lively and melodious music, inspiring liturgies and the good times we have had with her humorous wit and jokes. We wish Sister God’s blessings and good luck for the days ahead.
On the eve of her departure to the U.S. we had a simple farewell. This picture shows Sister Madeline Mary (right) with Sister Mary Kristin, Superior General, and Sister Mary Tripti, the local Superior of Casa Madre.
Motherhouse community welcomes new member

On Friday, September 23, 2011, we were happy to welcome Sister Mary Jaculin Manders from the province of Toledo, OH, USA, to the Motherhouse. Qualified as a teacher for English and computer science, she will work in the congregational archives and assist sisters in learning English and improving their computer skills. After having spent nine months in Indonesia as an English teacher for our sisters there in the past year, Sister M. Jaculin is now looking forward to immersing herself into our international “Motherhouse culture” and enjoying some of the abundant sights in and around Rome. We are happy to have to with us, dear Sr. M. Jaculin!

Motherhouse Study under way

During the General Chapter 2010, the chapter participants looked carefully into significant issues affecting the life and mission of our congregation and identified six areas to be further addressed in the coming six years. One of the chapter directives given in the context of “sustainability and resources for mission” is that the general government will study the needs of the Generalate / Motherhouse. Sister Mary Kristin and the general council have been in contact with all our provincial- and delegation superiors and through them with a number of sisters who have lived here for many years. Since the beginning of August, Sister Mary Shauna has been offering all the sisters currently living in the motherhouse an opportunity to share their thoughts on this topic. The photo shows Sister M. Shauna in her conversation with Sister M. Melani from Indonesia. In our conversations with her we talked about our views regarding the difference between a Generalate and a motherhouse, our responsibilities and experiences in this international community and our ideas for the future. All the input the general government receives will be made available for further discussion in a meeting of the provincial- and delegation superiors with the general administration in Indonesia in March 2012.

Snow in Rome!

Rome witnessed an unusual snowfall on Friday, February 3, 2012. Not since 1985 has Rome seen so much snowfall leaving about 12 inches snow and dropping the temperature as low as -3 C°. The wet snow fall caused a lot of chaos in Roman traffic. Several people were held back on roads and many others could not reach their destination. Sr. Gina Marie who had been returning to Rome from England after a great adventure reached Casa Madre at 10:30 p.m. 
The Casa Madre compound was blanketed with snowflakes.  Some of heavy snow dusted pine trees that then lost several of their branches. For the Sisters of the International community in Casa Madre who had not been exposed to snow, it gave them joy and excitement to be in the snow. The Italian weather forecast the weekend full of frost and snow and rain from North to South of Italy. 

Welcome to the Indian and Indonesian Pilgrims

After having an enriching experience at the cradle of our Congregation at Coesfeld, Vechta, and Mülhausen in Gemany and Tegelen in the Netherlands, five Indian pilgrims and three Indonesian pilgrims were joyfully welcomed to Casa Madre on October 4th, 2011. During the first day the pilgrims became acquainted with Casa Madre and the convent garden. Along with Sisters Sreeja, Supriya and Kharita, and their other sister tour guides in Rome, they already had wonderful experiences visiting St. Peter’s, the Vatican Museums, Mary Major, and the Colosseum. They are looking forward to having more surprises and enriching experiences. Next week they will join the renewal group from Korea (eight SNDs) and the Casa Madre Community for a pilgrimage to Nettuno (the birth place of Maria Goretti). The pilgrims will be returning to their respective countries on October 21st. They are grateful for the opportunity they have received in cherishing the heritage of our Congregation and the history of the Church. 
Pictured during their tour of the Casa Madre garden, from left to right, are Sister Mary Sreeja, Sister Mary Margaret Agnes (Generalate), Sister Maria Irma, Sister Maria Vinsentin, Sister Regina Maria from Pekalongan, Sister Mary Hema from Patna, Sister Mary Celine from Tanzania, Sister Mary Madhuri , Sister Mary Punita, Sister Mary Manju from Patna, Sister Maria Kharita (Generalate).



Hearty Welcome to Korean Renewal group.

Prior to their visit to Germany and Rome, the sisters participating in the Korean renewal group had been coming together once a month to study the history of our Congregation and our spirituality. Visiting Germany, the Netherlands, and Rome is the culmination of their renewal program. After their enriching experience with our German and Dutch sisters, the group was welcomed by the Casa Madre Community on October 18th, 2011. Under the leadership of Sr. Marie Emma (Generalate) and Sr. Marie Therese (a Korean Sister currently ministering in our Italian Delegation) the Korean Sisters are looking forward to having a wonderful experience in Rome.
The Sisters pictured here are members of the Renewal Group:
In front, left to right: Sister Marie Eunhye, Sister Marie Yeon Hee, Sister Marie Antonia
In back, left to right: Sister Marie Aosting, Sister Marie Clara, Sister Marie Emma, Sister Marie Vianney, Sister Marie Celina, Sister Marie Therese
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