By Barbara Watkins, Review Staff Writer
As the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary celebrate their 400th anniversary worldwide this year, the Visitation Sisters in St. Louis are living their charism of humility, gentleness, simplicity and a strong interior life, and striving to share it with others.
"Now our great mission is to pass our charism on," said Sister Marie Therese Ruthmann, a former Visitation Academy teacher and former superior at the monastery.
The Sisters of the Visitation hosted a Mass celebrating the 400th anniversary in June in the Visitation Academy Chapel in Town and Country. Among those attending were Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, all of whom were influenced by St. Francis de Sales, said Sister Marie Therese. Another celebration, including the Visitation Sisters across the United States, will be held at Visitation Monastery in June 2011.
Visitation Monastery and Academy is one of 11 communities in the United States and nearly 100 worldwide. Visitation Academy has been serving students in the St. Louis region for 177 years, since its modest beginning in Kaskaskia, Ill., in an abandoned hotel. Since then, Visitation Academy and Monastery moved three times within the City of St. Louis before its final move to Town and Country in 1962.
Continue reading about the Visitation Sisters on the St. Louis Review website »
WASHINGTON—As chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City applauded the July 28 decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton to halt some of the most controversial provisions of Arizona SB 1070 from going into effect the next day. Bishop Wester lamented the status quo on immigration as “unacceptable” and called for the Federal government to act immediately on immigration reform.
"It is the right decision,” Bishop Wester said. “Any law that provides legal cover to profiling affects all members of our communities, including legal residents and citizens. It is a very slippery slope. What is needed now is for Congress and the Administration to live up to their responsibilities and address this issue by passing immigration reform."
The U.S. Catholic bishops believe that any comprehensive immigration reform bill should contain the following elements: a legalization program that gives migrant workers and their families an opportunity to earn legal permanent residency and eventual citizenship; a new worker visa program that protects the labor rights of both U.S. and foreign workers and gives participants the option to earn permanent residency; reform of the U.S. family-based immigration system to reduce waiting times for family reunification; and restoration of due process protections for immigrants, including asylum-seekers. In the longer term, policies that address the root causes of migration, such as the lack of sustainable development in sending nations, should also be part of the equation.
