April 4, 2017

Elms College hosts ‘Sisters and Social Justice’ event to mark Catholic Sisters Week

REGIONAL
Staff report

Sister of St. Joseph Kathleen Keating speaks at a special Sisters and Social Justice event held at Elms College in Chicopee. (IObserve photos/courtesy of Elms College)

CHICOPEE – In honor of National Catholic Sisters Week, several Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJs) visited College of Our Lady of the Elms March 27 to give a special presentation titled “Sisters and Social Justice.”

Sisters Kathleen Keating, Denise Granger and Roberta Mulcahy discussed the SSJs’ current work and outlook on the future. They also spoke about the history and legacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph, as well as the congregation’s influence on the college.

Sister of St. Joseph Denise Granger speaks at the March 27 “Sisters and Social Justice” event.

The SSJs founded Elms College in 1928 to create educational opportunities for young women with limited access to education to prepare themselves for a career and prepare for a life of service to others in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Today, as a coeducational college, Elms still holds to a mission of “educating reflective, principled and creative learners who are rooted in faith, educated in mind, compassionate in heart, responsive to civic and social obligations, and capable of adjusting to change without compromising principle.”

The March 27 event gave the college community a closer look at the relationship between Elms and the SSJs.

Sister Keating opened the discussion with an overview of the history of the congregation, beginning in 1650 with its founding in LePuy, France, and carrying through to the present day here in Chicopee. Throughout the congregation’s history, Sister Keating noted, the Sisters of St. Joseph have worked to connect neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God, without distinction.

Sister Keating also explained the Consensus Statement of the Sisters of St. Joseph and its significance for the college – namely, to strive to be a people with “an orientation toward excellence tempered by gentleness, peace, and joy.”

Sisters Granger and Mulcahy discussed the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph through their work on the SSJ Justice and Peace Committee. They touched upon human trafficking in the local community, as well as in other parts of the U.S. and around the world, and local efforts to fight human trafficking and climate change. The SSJ Justice and Peace Committee is works to bring awareness to these issues and to create a safer world for all.

“If we are to make any change, we must first recognize the change in attitude and action that needs to begin with each one of us,” Sister Mulcahy said.

Sister Roberta Mulcahy speaks at the “Sisters and Social Justice” event at Elms College.

“The college community was reminded that our mission and core values flow out of the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph: ‘That all may be one,’” said Sister of St. Joseph Carol Allan, director of campus ministry at Elms. “Each of us at the college is called to that charism of unity and reconciliation in what we do at the college.

“Historically, our work together in support of our students has seen us reach beyond the college to respond to the communities, near and far, as we respond to the needs of our dear neighbors,” Sister Allan said.