"AN EXTRAORDINARILY GREAT JUBILEE" (Pope John Paul II)

As we celebrate the 2000^th anniversary of the Incarnation, we are experiencing a unique opportunity to reflect prayerfully and profoundly on the great Mystery of the Incarnation. For Sisters of the Incarnate Word, this is a highly relevant call to renewal, both personal and congregational, and the many Congregations of the Incarnate Word throughout the world are truly entering into the celebration.

Both the Pope’s 1994 Apostolic Letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, and his 1999, Bull of Indiction, Incarnationis Mysterium, formally announcing the Great Jubilee, call us to deep inner spiritual growth during and after the Great Jubilee celebration. Our Incarnate Word communities have taken this challenge very seriously and, over the four-year period of preparation for the Great Jubilee, they have entered into study, reflection, and prayer on the themes suggested in the documents.

The whole idea of Jubilee is summed up in Leviticus 25 which emphasizes a Jubilee year as a time of setting people free from whatever bondage they may be under. This is a major concern of Tertio Millennio Adveniente and of Incarnationis Mysterium. Matters of social concern are therefore of high priority during the Jubilee celebration. Again, Congregations of the Incarnate Word are entering deeply into matters of social concern, making every effort to contribute to the resolution of the social problems, local and universal, of our day.

The Great Jubilee of the Incarnation opened on Christmas Eve, 1999 and will continue until the Feast of the Epiphany, 2001. With overflowing joy, Incarnate Word communities celebrated Christmas, 1999, as they welcomed the Incarnate Word among us with renewed fervor. Many communities held a vigil of prayer and reflection on New Year’s Eve, 1999, before celebrating the coming of the Year 2000 on New Year’s Day.

In Incarnationis Mysterium, our Holy Father speaks of three "signs which attest to faith and foster the devotion of the Christian people." Those which he sees as being especially appropriate for the Great Jubilee are; 1) the holy door; 2) pilgrimage and 3) the jubilee indulgence.

The opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s was the symbolic action which officially began the Jubilee Year. Some of our Incarnate Word communities incorporated this action into their jubilee celebrations and designated a door in their chapels or residences which was opened at the beginning of the Jubilee Year with appropriate ritual. The symbolism points to the Church’s great desire to be open to distributing widely the riches of her graces to all people.

Pilgrimage is an acting out of our inner journey to the fullness of life in heaven. Again, Sisters of the Incarnate Word, Associates, and friends, have gone on pilgrimage this year. They have journeyed to holy places in Rome and the Holy Land, to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, to St. John’s Cathedral in Cleveland, to sites associated with Jeanne Chézard de Matel in France, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland, to the churches in the local dioceses designated by the Bishop as Jubilee Year Churches.

An important part of many Incarnate Word pilgrimages has been the desire to gain the Jubilee indulgence. In the designated churches in each diocese, the Jubilee indulgence can be gained exactly as we would gain it if we were to make pilgrimage to the major Basilicas in Rome. Gaining indulgences is an integral part of a jubilee year, linked to jubilee themes of release, reconciliation, and forgiveness of sins. Dr. Aurelie A. Hagstrom, striving, on behalf of the United States Bishops to explain the concept of indulgences in contemporary terms, speaks of "a rupture or a disorderedness in the human person’s relationship with God…" This "remnant of spiritual disorder" she says, "has traditionally been called temporal punishment, and its remission has traditionally been called an indulgence" (Indulgences and the Jubilee Year 2000).

Matters of social concern have called for congregational action to set people free from all kinds of bondage as we enter the twenty-first century. Incarnate Word communities are concerned and are taking positive action to do everything possible to obtain the cancellation of the world debt for poverty stricken countries, to bring about a moratorium on the death penalty, to make needed medicine affordable for the elderly and the poor, to be involved in the corporate responsibility movement. Sisters of the Incarnate Word are holding social concerns workshops and educational evenings for Sisters and/or Associates and others, and some are making sizeable financial donations to the poor and the needy.

Special Jubilee Days celebrated in the Year 2000 have been the Jubilee of Consecrated Life celebrated on World Day for Consecrated Life at the beginning of February, 2000, and the Jubilee of Women on the Feast of the Incarnate Word, March 25. Both were marked by festivities in many of our communities. The Jubilee of Artists led to an Incarnate Word exhibition on artistic interpretations of the Incarnation while April 8, 2000, National Day of Reconciliation, brought about many rites of reconciliation.

The hoped-for outcome of the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation is a deep transformation, both personal and communitarian, which will enable us to respond positively to the challenges of the Third Millennium. In the last quarter of the Jubilee Year, let us reflect prayerfully on such questions as: How has the experience of grace in this Year of Jubilee prepared me for the century ahead? How has my experience of divine mercy enabled me to bring that mercy to others -- in matters of social concern, reconciliation, forgiveness, setting others free? Through what symbolic "door" do I still need to pass to experience the Gospel as "a wellspring of life and hope for the …third millennium?" In Incarnationis Mysterium, Our Holy Father expressed the hope that at the end of the Jubilee Year, we will be made new in Christ Who is "our peace and our reconciliation." When I enter the New Year 2001, will I truly be made new in Christ as a result of the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation?

Gomez Palacio

Sister Maria del Refugio Galindo Cruz, Superior
Sr. Maria Goretti Salcedo V., Assistant and First Councilor.
Sister Maria del Rocio Moreno Soto;
Sister Maria Esther Gamboa Saucedo, Councilor and Secretary General
Sister Maria Javier Corral Nevarez.
Sister Maria Cristian Fierro Pulido, Treasurer

Corpus Christi

Sister Maria Irma Gonzalez, Superior General
Sister Martha O’Gara, Assistant and First Councilor
Sister Esther Dunegan, Councilor
Sister Annette Wagner, Councilor
Sister Elizabeth Close, Councilor
Sister Agnes Marie Tengler, Secretary General
Sister Mary Ann Korczynski Treasurer General.

Mexico City CVI’s Vice-Provincial Chapters were held for the first time ever in the spring of 2000. The two Vice-Provinces holding Chapters were the Vice-Province of Santa María de Guadalupe and the Vice-Province of María Inmaculada. The experience was described as a call to conversion in the Spirit. The Sisters experienced it as a new and rich sharing of prayer and ideas which was greatly assisted by the use of modern technology.

Ordained for the Diocese of Victoria in May and June, 2000 were Robert Flores Guerra and Robert E. Knippenberg. Of note is the fact that Father Robert Knippenberg is very interested in becoming a Father of the Incarnate Word!

The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio is sponsoring a program entitled "Connecting Worlds: The Cybersisters’ Project." The program matches Sisters 60 – 80 year old Sisters with college business students in the University. The college students, some of whom have never talked to a Sister, become computer tutors for the Sisters. Both are benefiting from the experience.

Sisters of the Incarnate Word from the Mexico City Congregation who are living in Europe met in Madrid, Spain January 3 – 6, 2000. The Sisters in Spain were joined by Sister Silvia Estela Mares from Lyon, France. Much time was devoted to reflecting, in highly creative ways, on the charism of the Order. On January 4, the Sisters discussed the revision of the Statutes which guide the European Delegation. On January 5, they made retreat in preparation for renewal of vows on January 6. The Sisters returned with renewed enthusiasm to their places of ministry, recognizing them anew as the place in which they are called to "extend the Incarnation."

In August 1999, Cleveland’s rebuilt Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine was completed and dedicated, and has had a steady stream of visitors since. This year the Sisters worked on completing an outdoor Labyrinth adjacent to the Shrine - a replica of the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France built around 1201 and used primarily throughout the Middle Ages. The Labyrinth at Incarnate Word will be dedicated on October 1, 2000, followed by an Open House. At that time, pilgrims of today will be invited to walk the prayer path as a symbolic pilgrimage in celebration of this Great Jubilee of the Incarnation.

On September 8, 2000, Galveston, Texas commemorated the centennial of a hurricane of such destructive force that it continues to be known as the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history. More than 6,000 men, women and children were killed. Among the dead were 10 members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and 90 orphan children in their care at St. Mary’s Orphanage. On the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the storm, the Congregation actively participated in a candlelight memorial ceremony to remember all those died. A 10-foot tall monument was dedicated which celebrates the spirit of Galvestonians in rebuilding their city. A Memorial Ceremony was held at the site of the former orphanage. In addtion, the Congregation has produced commemorative items for release to the public.

The international San Antonio CCVI Charism and Spirituality Group held its annual meeting in San Antonio in the summer of 2000. The assembly focused on the themes of personal and Congregational reconciliation and transformation. The assembly was attended by Sisters, Associates and Volunteers in Mission.

The CCVI Congregation of San Antonio sponsored an international Growth Opportunity Group Gathering for different age-levels of the Congregation. The encounter helped foster good relationships and focus on the important themes of religious life for their age group.

Josephine O’Hara, hired by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word of Cleveland, worked through most of the summer translating the History of the Order of the Incarnate Word from its original Spanish to English. Author of the work is Sister Silvia Estela Mares of the Mexico City CVI community. Fluent in both Spanish and French, Josie, at this time, has completed Section I - 1/3 of the work. The Cleveland Sisters plan to make this history available soon in English to all Congregations of the Incarnate Word.

Sister Xavier Holworthy’s 1948 book, Father Jaillet: Saddleback Priest of the Nueces, was used in an editorial in the August 27^th issue of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times to reflect on challenges facing the city of Corpus Christi today. In 1996, at the request of the San Diego, Texas, Historical Society, the book was reprinted and is currently required reading for seminarians in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

In 1925, the CCVI Sisters of Houston purchased Carrigoran House in County Clare, Ireland, as a receiving house for prospective candidates for their Congregation. On July 22, 2000, members of the Congregation celebrated the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the house through which most of the current Sisters passed on their way to answer God’s call. In all, approximately 500 young Irish women traveled from St. Michael Convent, Carrigoran, to the CCVI novitiate in Houston, Texas. In 1974, the manor- house- turned-convent was demolished and a new Carrigoran House to care for the elderly was constructed.

Sr. Mary Ellen Ryan of Cleveland visited Sr. Rosa Marta in Mexico City in April, 2000. This trip was a gift to Sr. Mary Ellen in appreciation for her seventeen years of service as Director of the Incarnate Word Associates in Cleveland. Traveling to Mexico City with Sr. Mary Ellen was Sr. Carol Tobler who went from there to vist the Sisters in Gomez Palacio – the Congregation from which the Cleveland community was founded. Both Sister Mary Ellen and Sr. Carol had memorable visits, and came back with wonderful memories to share of being with our Sister Congregations.

LCWR Regional and National Conventions: Superiors and leadership teams from Incarnate Word Communities in

Present at the National Assembly in Albuquerque, New Mexico in August 2000 were Sr. María Irma Gonzales (Corpus Christi), Srs. Carol Tobler and Cecelia Moran (Cleveland), and Sr. Evelyn (Victoria) They enjoyed each other as they shared together, the theme of the Conference – "Risk the Sacred Journey", as well as some social outings. Three resolutions relating to justice and peace were adopted.

NCEA: Incarnate Word Sisters from many congregations attended the annual National Catholic Education Association convention held in Baltimore, Easter Week, 2000. The theme of the convention was "Catholic Education: Broad Stripes and Bright Starts." During the convention, the School Board of Incarnate Word Academy, Corpus Christ received an award as an outstanding School Board.

Sr. Grace O’Brien of the CVI community of Houston is the Assistant Director of the Family Road Program at the Christus Southwest Community Health Center, a public health clinic for the poor, run by the Houston CCVI’s. The mission of the project is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to those in need. Services are offered to meet physical needs and other types of needs also. The very caring, compassionate staff comes from various ethnic backgrounds and demonstrates an inspiring attitude.

In 1999, the Catholic Church in Nairobi was one hundred years old. Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Kenya ask us to pray with the Nairobians that the growth of the Church in the past may be an inspiration in the present to spread the Good News of Christ to all Kenyans.

Through the initiative of the Daughters of Saint Paul and the help of such communities as the Missionaries of Africa and the Comboni Fathers, an African Bible has been published. Its aim is to help Africans meet Jesus Christ in a way that is true to Scripture while integrating aspects of African culture. This goal is achieved by using illustrations taken from the African experience and by referring to the African experience in the introduction, commentaries, and notes. African Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Kenya and Tanzania are confident that this "Bible with an African accent" will help them personally and all to whom they minister grow in their live of Jesus, the Incarnate Word Who embraces all cultures.

Sister Rebecca Janacek from Victoria, Texas, writes from the bush in Barpello, Kenya that the people of Kenya are in dire need due to the drought that has killed the animals that were the livelihood of the people there. She asks for prayers for the people of Kenya. Her comments are supported by Sister Fidela of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Nairobi, Kenya. Sister Fidela speaks of the dryness, sickness, and famine throughout the region and the great challenges that must be faced. Sister Fidela asks, "What can we continue to do to help our poor people?"

The Mexico City Sisters of the Incarnate Word have begun their ministry work in Tanzania by opening a Nursery School and Primary School. They are pleased with the development of the project thus far.

Last Spring, El Amparo de San Jose (Shelter San Jose) in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, celebrated its 24th anniversary. El Amparo is a center for the extremely challenged, both mentally and physically, who have been abandoned by their families. It is administered by the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston. More than 900 guests came to the celebration from Central America and the United States. The Poor Clares,the De La Salle Brothers, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament and the diocese of Huehuetenango were very supportive and helpful as they offered lodging for everybody. The Holy Eucharist was the center of the entire celebration that began at 11 a.m. in the Cathedral and was officiated by Bishop Francisco Fernando Bobadilla. Sister Alice Mary Buckley, CCVI, representing the CCVI Congregation of Houston, presented a plaque and a gift from the Congregation to the Center.

Why a one year residency in Africa? In the third panel of my triptych of the life of Jeanne Chézard de Matel, undertaken some years ago, I had painted the Incarnate Word Sisters with their Associates, caring for the underprivileged in an imaginary slum. Last year when I developed the film of a photograph of the Nairobi Kibera slums, I realized the roofs and utility post in the photo matched perfectly with the slums in my much earlier painting! Did I unknowingly paint my own future? Was I to work with the poor in Africa? "No! You can’t mean me! You can’t ask me to leave my family, my friends, my Sisters, my career, my business, my home! Ask someone else!" But as the African saying goes..."/ am the one." and so I went!

My arrival was traumatic. The Lord crippled my health, stability, emotions, ambitions, leaving me only my paint brush! This was to be His time. The weeks of long hours spent painting the Novitiate chapel are my retreat, my purification ... just He and /. My duties have included: painting the Novitiate chapel and religious stoles, secretarial and accounting work, archive work, tutoring English and computer, monitoring exams, proof reading English, milking the cow, feeding chickens, maintenance duties, supervising painting of rooms, kitchen and laundry duties.

I stand in awe of the accomplishments of the CVI Sisters of Mexico City, achieved under primitive conditions. The Novitiate and Postulancy are full, with new aspirants continuing to arrive. The Order of Jeanne de Matel is flourishing in Africa. The African design I painted in the chapel is hand painted, with each section having its own flaws and blemishes, much like each community member in the Novitiate. But linked together they form a nearly perfect design. Mass and Liturgies are celebrated to the beat of the drum, with singing and dancing. Many religious and lay people visit. Special occasions have been the visits of the Papal Nuncio and various Bishops with a meeting of retired Cardinal Maurice Otunga as a highlight.

Poverty is everywhere in Kenya. People rummage through garbage dumps searching for food. Cripples, with every possible deformity and malady, lack medical attention. Young girls give birth to babies in the public maternity ward, two or three to a bed, without any provision for the future. Each family knows death personally. Women do most of the work, bearing and raising the children, while trying to improve living conditions. There is severe rationing of electricity and water, poor telephone service, rampant corruption, thieves, unemployment, and shortage of money and food.

The nomadic, primitive Pokot tribe is unique and intelligent. Food means life or death for them. During the drought they have lost their cattle, and are in the first stages of starvation. We could learn much by studying their deep devotions, adherence to ancient traditional customs, and life satisfaction. In Tanzania, I visited a new primary school at the Masonga Mission at the time of its dedication by their Bishop. Mass was celebrated outdoors with the school children, faculty, parents, and friends in attendance. A huge celebration was held afterward, with much dancing and singing in colorful attire. I encountered large warrior ants, a poisonous snake, the mad man from Shirati, the local drunk, natives bathing naked at the lake.

I have quit discerning what I will be, and serve each day in the present. One day I am packing and the next I want to stay forever! Be it a detour or the main road.../ am the onel

Incarnate Word Formation Symposium 2000 was hosted by IWBS of Corpus Christi February 25–27, 2000. Twenty representatives of the six American Incarnate Word groups participated in the Symposium. Sr. Henri Amador, IWBS, gave a presentation on "The Gift of the Eucharist to the Church" while Sr. Kathleen McDonagh gave one on "The Eucharist in the Life and Spirituality of Jeanne Chézard de Matel." Sr. Annette Wagner facilitated the reflection process while overall direction was provided by the Initial Formation Team of Corpus Christi.

Region XII of the RFC hosted a workshop on "Renewing the Face of the Earth" with Sr. Paula González, SC as presenter. The workshop was held on April 15, 2000, at the Centennial Hall of the CCVI Retirement Center in San Antonio. Sister Anna Marie Espinosa, (Corpus Christi) Co-chair of Region XII facilitated the activities for the day. Many formation personnel from Incarnate Word Congregations in Texas participated in the event.

CCVI’s of San Antonio: The CCVI’s of San Antonio have 10 new novices in their international initial formation program.

Corpus Christi: Sister Marilyn Grace Springs of Corpus Christi renewed her annual vows. She is preparing for final commitment on June 23, 2001.

Victoria: On December 28, 1999. Sister M. Ann Meletio of Dallas made her First Profession of Vows and Sister M. Liliane Janda of Hostyn made her Perpetual Profession. In August, 2000, Sister Cynthia Ann Cuellar began her second year novitiate with an apostolic experience in St. Joseph School in Yoakum, Texas. Sister Maria Estéfana Robles is a "Sister Mom" and has been in part-time ministry with Martha’s Kids, a ministry with the poor and homeless in Victoria. In August she will begin ministry in the Child Development Center at Blessed Sacrament Academy in San Antonio, Texas.

Victoria Formation Director: Sister Amata Hollas, Victoria’s director of novices and initial formation in Victoria, is chairperson for the Inter-Community Novitiate Program with Region 12 of the Religious Formation Conference. The Victoria Community has participated in the program for the past three years and has found it to be a tremendous support to the novices as well as to the novice directors: they meet approximately six times a year.

CVI Sisters of Houston: On July 29, 2000, Sr. Mary Margaret Rosberg, CVI, made first vows and Sr. Mary Jude Tanudtanud, CVl, of Houston, began her novitiate. Sr. Mary Margaret is teaching at Incarnate Word Academy, Houston, and works with Liturgy at the Motherhouse. Sr. Mary Jude is having novitiate classes and also serves as Eucharistic Minister at St. Joseph's Hospital one morning a week. Each of these Sisters studied at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Houston during her previous year in initial formation.

Mexico City: The Sisters of the Incarnate Word from Mexico City celebrated the final profession of Sister María Teresa Ríos Hernández in Mexico and of Sr. Esther Ngima Nwaniki in Kenya. Also in Kenya, Sister Lucia Syowai and Sister Mary Watetu Ndungu took first vows, and the novitiate community welcomed six novices and seven postulants on August 15, 2000. In Mexico, Sister Karime Nayely Velásquez Perea and Sister Yoland Castrellóon Félix began their novitiate as did Sister Flor de María Ramos Vásques in Guatemala City.

Representatives from all Incarnate Word Congregations in the United States were among the 350+ Associates and religious from the United States and Canada who attended the annual North American Conference of Associates and Religious. The Conference demonstrated the growth of Associate Programs in the United States and Canada and gave insights into common experiences and challenges.

Pilgrimage: On July 4, 1999, 49 pilgrims: returned from the second Victoria pilgrimage "In the Footsteps of Mother Jeanne de Matel." They visited Belmont, Avignon, Lyon, and Paris.

September Commitment of new Associates: On September 12, 1999, at a 2:00 p.m. Mass, seven new Associates made their Consecration. Father Michael Petering, who was a member of the Charter group in Formation and then went to the seminary, was finally able to make his consecration. Others in the group were from Victoria, Edna, Inez and Cuero, all in Texas.

Death of an Associate: September 14: Associate Delrose Sandelovic died as peacefully as she had lived with terminal cancer for the last two years. Sisters and Associates led her Wake Service praying the Evening Prayer of the Dead and the Rosary and sharing memories. Sisters and Associates also participated in the funeral services. May she rest in peace!

Prospective Associates: On May 15, 2000, the twelfth group of prospective Associates attended an orientation meeting.

Tenth anniversary: In 1999, Houston Associates celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the beginning of their Associate group. They also collaborated with the Sisters in the hosting of the 1999 National Reunion and were part of the program ushering in of the Jubilee Year.

Study program: In the years of preparation for the Jubilee, Associates studied and discussed such Jubilee themes as Social Justice, Evangelization, Reconciliation, and Eucharist.

Associates’ Prayer: In April, 2000, the CVI Associates of Houston were gifted with their personal copies of "Shorter Christian Prayer" They feel blessed at sharing in one other way in the community prayer of the Congregation as they pray the Psalms daily.

Paper requested: Guy Mazzola, president of the Houston CVI Associates, was invited by the staff of the National Conference of Associates and Religious to prepare a paper describing how he came to be involved with the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Houston and what it meant to him to be an Associate. His paper is to be included in a book called "Partners in the Dance" to be published by the Organization in the near future.

Change of Directors: In March 2000, after seventeen years of ministry, Sr. Mary Ellen Ryan resigned as Director of the Associates in Cleveland. The Sisters and Associates had a special Thanksgiving celebration for Sr. Mary Ellen in March, and presented her with tickets to visit Sr. Rosa Marta in Mexico City. Sr. Mary Rose Kocab was appointed to succeed Sr. Mary Ellen in working with the Associates.

Direction of Associates: Sister Annette Wagner and a Core Committee of Associates continue to direct the Associates in Corpus Christi and Brownvsille. The Associate Core Committee for the current year is composed of: Connie Hutchinson, Ruth Marsh, and Heriberto Treviño in Brownsville, and Jerry and Ed Russek, Mary Alice Amaya, Amelia Amaya, and Connie and Joe Cueva in Corpus Christi.

Course of Studies: First year associate candidate orientation began focusing on Lozano’s Jeanne Chézard de Matel and the Sisters of the Incarnate Word. Second year candidates reflected on prayer traditions of the Church as practiced in Incarnate Word communities. In particular, Eucharistic and Marian devotions were discussed.

Change of Directors: Nora Mancuso has resigned as Director of the Associates for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, due to the illness of her husband, Carmen. A Mass and dinner honoring Nora was held at the Villa de Matel on July 1. Zita Barkey has been named the Director of CCVI Associates.

Increase in numbers: Associates in San Antonio added approximately 30 new Associates and 3 Volunteers in Mission to their numbers.

Vocation Teams: The Victoria Congregation uses a team approach for its vocation work. Teams of two or three Sisters coordinate vocation awareness activities for select audiences including adult women, high school students, junior high students, all the fifth graders in the Diocese of Victoria Catholic Schools, and other target groups. Scheduled discernment weekends for adult women, and for high school girls are currently held four times a year. All the Sisters in the Congregation have been urged to join the vocation effort through their example, prayers and invitations to potential candidates to "come and see."

New Vocation Director: Sister Maureen Costello, CCVI of Houston, has completed her ministry as Vocation Director for the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, and is now serving in pastoral care at Carrigoran House, a long-term care facility in Ireland. Sister Pauline Troncale is the new Vocation Director for the Congregation.

Sister Noreen Begley of Corpus Christi was awarded a special plaque and certificate by the 13^th Annual Literacy Conference meeting in Corpus Christi on September 9, 2000. The award recognized her 750 hours of volunteer tutoring. On the same occasion, Sister Monica de la Rosa received a certificate for 50 hours of tutoring.

Sister Madeleine Grace, CVI, of Houston had an article entitled "The Eucharist and Jeanne Chézard de Matel," published in the June 2000 issue of Emmanuel, a periodical of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.

Sister Beatrice Cruz, Jude Janecek, Barbara Netek, and Annette Wagner of Corpus Christi attended the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership in Houston, Texas, May 7 – 11, 2000. The focus of the Conference was on the theme, "Celebrating the Ultimate Mystery." Each presentation was focused on the Trinity.

Sister Maria Irma González of Corpus Christi, with Sr. Guadalupe Ramirez, MCDP, of San Antonio, will represent Region XII LCWR members in the Women Religious Delegation to El Salvador November 30 to December 8, 2000. The event commemorates the 20^th anniversary of the deaths of the four U.S. churchwomen who were martyred in San Salvador.

Sister Lou Ella Hickman of Corpus Christi continues to publish both prose and poetry in a variety of periodicals.

Sister M. Valerie Janecka of Victoria completed her Masters Degree in Education. Sister Valerie teaches the emotionally disturbed at Victoria High School.

Sr. Mary Rose Kocab of Cleveland has left the Diocesan Vocation Office, Cleveland, OH after nine year. She has now opened a new office for the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Cleveland, and is serving the Congregation as Promoter of the Charism and Mission of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. In this capacity she will be spending her time doing things like: WEB-Site development; writing promotional literature; doing mission effectiveness with Sisters, Associates, Employees, Parents, Students, and others Associated with Sisters and their Ministries; membership work; and doing some contemporary writing about Jeanne de Matel and her spirituality. She is willing to collaborate with other Incarnate Word Congregations in ways that would be helpful to all of us.

Sister M. Evelyn Korenek of Victoria was honored on February 5 as an outstanding leader in Catholic Education during the 2000 Catholic Schools Hall of Fame and Outstanding Leaders Awards Dinner in San Antonio.

Sister M. Odilia Korenek of Victoria was recognized on August 26, 1999 for her outstanding service in education to the San Antonio community by being awarded the Ford Salute to Education. Sister Odilia serves as Director of Services at Blessed Sacrament Academy in San Antonio.

Sister Mary Philomena McCormack of Corpus Christi was featured in an article in the July 30 edition of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The article spoke of Sister’s work in the congregational archives over the last thirty years.

Sr. Cecelia Moran of Cleveland has served as Chaplain in Pastoral Care at St. Michael’s Hospital in Cleveland’s Inner City for 17 years. In response to an announcement that the hospital would be closed, Sr. Cecelia got involved with other employees and people in the neighborhood in an effort to save the hospital. Without it, thousands of poor people would not be served. University Hospital of Cleveland agreed to buy St. Michael’s, and are committed to continuing to serve the residents of the inner city.

Sister Mary Louise Mount of Corpus Christi has published her autobiography, All of the Best and the Best of All. The Foreword to her book is by Bishop Edmond Carmody of Corpus Christi. Sister Mary Louise is a Sister-Mom and a Sister-Grandma. She is a convert to the Catholic Church and was a member of several Christian denominations before finding her way into the Catholic Church.

Sr. Carmel O’Malley of Houston’s CVI community received a Summer Science Grant from SMART Center of the University of Houston for a study session June 5 – 16, 2000. The Science project is sponsored by the National Petrochemicals and Refiners Association for 30 teachers.

Sister Rosa Ortiz of Corpus Christi participated in the November 21, 1999, protest against the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Sister Judith Marie Saenz prepared and led a morning prayer service for The Theological Schools Development Conference held in Corpus Christi February 18 –2 4.

Sister Agatha Shimek of Victoria received special recognition for her services as English teacher and librarian during the Dedication and Blessing of Sacred Heart High School Library/Media Center in Hallettsville on February 2. Sister Agatha served in Halletsville for many years.

Sr. Margaret Taylor of Cleveland completed her second term as Congregational Leader in 1999 and spent a year on Sabbatical from June, 1999 though June 2000. Back in Cleveland now, Sr. Margaret has entered a Masters Degree program in Theology at St. Mary Seminary, and is doing part time ministry as Director of Pastoral Care at Regina Health Center.

Sister Marilyn Grace Springs of Corpus Christi attended the National Black Sisters’ Conference in Hampton, VA, July 23-27 2000. She found the conference very inspiring.

Sisters Annette Wagner, Rose Miriam Gansle, Henri Amador, Lou Ella Hickman, Raquel Newman, and Barbara Netek, all teach adult theology courses for the diocesan Pastoral Institute of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Sister Annette is the Diocesan Director of the Pastoral Institute.

The Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Cleveland will host the Incarnate Word National Reunion next summer, July 6 – 8, 2001. The Cleveland Sisters invite us to mark our calendars, and plan to be present. We are assured of a warm welcome in Cleveland.

With deep regret, we note the passing of Sister M. Loyola Hegarty, CCVI, of Villa de Matel in Houston. A former Superior General, Sister Loyola had degrees in Pharmacy and English. For many years, she was an instructor and Director of Studies at Villa de Matel Motherhouse and at the Novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston. Sister Loyola had a deep appreciation of the charism and history of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word. She authored the book Serving with Gladness: The Origin and History of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston, published in 1966, and reprinted in 1986. Participants in some of the National Reunions in Houston will remember her learned but joyous and sometimes humorous commentary on the history of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Houston and Galveston. A message from Sisters Carmen Maria Gonzalez, CVI of Mexico City, and Sister Carmelita Casso, IWBS of Victoria, presently working in Rome on the beatification of Jeanne Chézard de Matel, says:

We offer sincere condolences to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston upon the death of Mother Loyola Hegarty, a devoted and ongoing supporter of the Cause of our beloved Mother Jeanne Chézard de Matel. Besides daily mementos, we had a Mass offered for her at St. Peter’s Basilica. May she rest in peace and now lend her prayers for the Cause in a different way.

The Sisters of the Incarnate Word (Cleveland) seek a highly skilled Development Director. This person will oversee the planning, implementation and coordination of all aspects of Development for the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Incarnate Word Academy with a commitment to help to promote the mission of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word. An ideal candidate will have: a minimum of three to five years experience managing a comprehensive development program; demonstrated leadership abilities in the areas of fund-raising, marketing, and public relations; familiarity with not-for-profit organizations; a Bachelor’s Degree is preferred. The position requires excellent oral and written communication skills, and strong computer background. Experience in an educational setting would be helpful. If interested please contact: Sr. Carol Tobler, SIW, Congregational Leader, 6618 Pearl Road, Parma Heights, OH 44130-3808. Phone: 440-886-6440. FAX: 440-842-6391

The Fiat is published once a year by the Order of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. Its purpose is to inform all Sisters and Associates of the Incarnate Word and their friends on happenings in the universal Order. It is edited by Sister Kathleen McDonagh, IWBS, 2930 S. Alameda, Corpus Christi, Texas 78404, USA. Phone: (361) 882-5413. FAX (361) 880-4152, e-mail: kathleenmcdonagh@hotmail.com This issue is printed and distributed by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Houston, Texas.