Hope Unbroken: Journeying in God's Promise
The 2025 assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) entitled Hope Unbroken: Journeying in God’s Promise drew approximately 560 LCWR members as well as about 300 collaborators to Atlanta, Georgia from August 12-15. Throughout the event, participants acknowledged the struggle of these times and explored the practices that can ground them in faith so they can live “hope unbroken” for the sake of the world, the church, and their religious communities.
The opening of the assembly included a recorded greeting from the US apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre; as well as in-person greetings from Sister Simona Brambilla, MC and Daniela Leggio, from the Vatican; Bishop William Wack, CSC, LCWR’s episcopal liaison; and Archbishop Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv from the archdiocese of Atlanta.
In a moving personal reflection that stemmed from the experience of being diagnosed with cancer shortly after assuming her role as LCWR president Sister Kathy Brazda, CSJ of LaGrange, Illinois shared in an address the questions she carried: “How could I lead when I had doubts about my own future, my own life, my own ability to be competent? How could I plan for a future that I had doubts would be available to me?” In her address, she recounted what she had learned about leadership for these times from the stance of greater vulnerability. “In surrendering to God’s strength, we can come to courage and grace and the dynamism of love. With that encouragement, we can face the future through the best and worst of times.”
Sister Simona Brambilla, MC prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Rome, addressed how religious life can be a sign of hope today. She noted, “May consecrated life truly always be a humble prophecy of forgiveness, of reparation, of the rebuilding of bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood, of peace, of trust, of communion. May it be a sentinel with senses sharpened and open to perceive in the night the breath of God, His gentle light, His whisper, His fragrance, His unmistakable taste, in order to welcome it, point it out, proclaim it, and walk the paths of hope that does not disappoint, because they are rooted in the Paschal Mystery, in the Heart of God.”
Rev. James Martin, SJ, editor-at-large at America Media, using the gospel story of the raising of Lazarus challenged the participants to apply the insights of this story to the realities of US religious life today. He posed the questions: “What is keeping us from hearing God’s voice in our lives, in our congregations, in our communities?” “What do you, what do we, need to leave behind to hear God calling us into a surprising new life?”
A panel of three women religious leaders, Sisters Barbara Beasley, RGS; Pat McDermott, RSM; and Sara Postlethwaite, VDMF, spoke to what has held them in the challenges of religious life leadership so that their hope remains unbroken. Drawing upon their own experiences, they shared what has kept them inspired and what have been their anchors as they face the complex questions that are before religious institutes today.
Representatives from the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center and The Carter Center joined the assembly in a panel presentation and shared their valuable insights on their work and how it connects to the LCWR Call for 2023-2028 and the LCWR assembly resolution.
A Pilgrimage of Hope took place on the morning of August 14, a one-mile walk through downtown Atlanta with prayer rooted in the commitment to addressing systemic injustice in the areas of racism, migration, and the climate crisis. (A recording of the one-hour walk is available on the LCWR Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lcwr.org)
Assembly participants had two opportunities to meet in their own role groups which included sessions for leaders, executive leaders, communicators, and justice promoters, as well as guests serving religious life in other organizations.
During the assembly the members blessed the new leadership for the conference. Sister Debra Sciano, SSND, a School Sister of Notre Dame from Wisconsin was selected as the LCWR president-elect. She joins Sister Vicky Larson, BVM who will serve as president for 2025-2026, and Sister Kathy Brazda, CSJ who will serve as immediate past-president. Elected to the national board were Sisters Karen Dietrich, SSJ; Sheena George, CSJP; Maribeth Larkin, SSS; and Maria Sheila Undang, O Carm.
At the assembly closing, Sister Mary Pat Garvin, RSM was honored with the 2025 LCWR Outstanding Leadership Award. A Sister of Mercy of the Americas, Sister Mary Pat has served as an educator, consultant, and facilitator for national and international institutes and conferences of religious.
Recordings and texts of the addresses and other materials are available below.
Media contact:
Sister Annmarie Sanders, IHM – Director of Communications
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
asanders@lcwr.org | 301.588.4955
