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Witnesses
Our Lady of Loretto
South Bend, IN
March 8, 2024

We organized a unique procession and prayer service to honor St. Phoebe on her feast day, September 3, 2023 at Our Lady of Loretto, hosted by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, IN. During the opening procession, there were five stops at which we read sections of the synodal document Instrumentum Laboris, and then responded in prayer and song, singing together, “Receive her in the Lord.” As we processed, two Holy Cross sisters literally opened the doors of the church for us, to receive our procession and our prayers into the inner sanctuary. The service began with a litany of deacon saints, including St. Phoebe, followed by prayers shared by members of the community in both English and Spanish. 20 community members were involved throughout the procession with 9 different voices speaking and leading us in prayer.

Together, increasing our devotion to St. Phoebe, we created something that was empowering, mystical, connective and embodied. We experienced what it can feel like to walk and pray together on a synodal journey. We are powerful together! There is such a thirst for this conversation and for this type of embodied prayer and communal witness.

This celebration and our witness feels so tied to the General Assembly of the Synod. We are crying out to St. Phoebe and begging for her intercession on this journey. We are so filled with the Spirit, excited to meet again next year, and to continue praying and witnessing to our shared devotion to St. Phoebe. St. Phoebe, pray for us!

      

 

 

   

Witness
“Being able to be educated on who St. Phoebe is and giving others the chance to meet her, being part of a community of women who promote an inclusive model of the church, and seeing my own community come alive and heal from division provides a vision of what can and will be possible one day in the Catholic Church.”
Kathleen O'Brien
Maryknoll Bay Area Regional Coordinator in the Mission Formation Department
Witness
“I have witnessed these women become Catholic high school teachers, professors, writers, administer parish life and leaders of prayer services. Women have been my peers and supervisors, except in diaconal ministry. I continue to hold out hope that women’s gifts for ministry and service can and will be acknowledged by the church.”
Fr. Tom Cwick, SJ
Pastoral Minister, North Side, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“I am grateful as a pastor and a part of the BCCs here to learn and journey together with others. As a priest in our community, I am proud to be a part of this ministry to uplift women who are struggling. It is great joy and fulfillment. In my personal life, I have experienced the richness of acknowledging and uplifting the witness of women in the early Church and also in our Church today.”
Fr. Vincent Dsouza, SJ
Pastor and Base Christian Community Leader, India

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This is the hub where we share relevant news, events and opportunities to participate in the work. 
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