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Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ Announce New U.S. Province Leadership Team (2025–2029)
Following the sacred and contemplative experience of our 23rd U.S. Province Chapter, themed “Standing at the Threshold of the Unimaginable,” we joyfully announce the new U.S. Province Leadership Team of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. This expanded team includes three returning councilors and two newly elected sisters who will officially begin their four-year term following an installation ceremony on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 2:00pm ET in Ancilla Domini Chapel, Donaldson, IN. Their election reflects both continuity and new energy as the U.S. Province embraces the call to deeper communion, courageous ministry, and prophetic transformation.
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Statement on Immigration
As Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, we grieve the current situation being experienced by our brothers and sisters in immigrant communities across our country. As they have for decades, immigrants contribute to the economy by filling labor shortages, starting businesses, and paying taxes. They enrich society with new perspectives, traditions and skills. Many have specialized professions that fill critical roles in various industries.
The disappearance of human beings through raids, detentions, and policies that treat human beings as threats rather than neighbors are unjust acts of violence and discrimination, and are against all we believe in as human beings and as children of God.
We have a moral obligation to offer refuge to those fleeing persecution, violence or the ravages of climate change and to ensure reunification of families who have been terrorized and torn apart, often without cause.
Faith without action is dead. Thus, we feel compelled to respond with courage by using our voices to stand unafraid and determined to speak out against the injustices endangering our immigrant sisters and brothers who only seek safety and peace in our country.
We believe in the call to welcome, accompany, advocate for and serve displaced people. Therefore, we urge our U.S. administration to honor our history as a nation of immigrants who built this country, and we affirm the longstanding call by U.S. bishops to reject the current anti-immigrant stance. Our government officials should improve our nation’s asylum system, provide lawful pathways to citizenship for migrants and work with Congress to develop immigration reforms.
Pope Leo XIV reminds us: “No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.”
We Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ stand in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters, and we reject policies rooted in racism and fear.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Catherine’s Cottage, a New Home for PHJC Sisters
More than 100 Sisters, Maria Center residents, coworkers, and friends gathered on July 28, 2025, to celebrate a land acknowledgment, blessing, and groundbreaking for the newly expanded Catherine’s Cottage—a future residence for the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC).
Following a period of discernment, the Sisters made the thoughtful decision to create a space that honors and supports members of the congregation as they age. The new Catherine’s Cottage will provide a welcoming, purpose-built home that reflects the values of care, dignity, and community.
Sister Shirley Bell, PHJC, United States Province Leader, welcomed guests and emphasized the importance of planning for a long, healthy future rooted in faith and compassion. “The groundbreaking of this addition to Catherine’s Cottage is more than the beginning of a building,” It’s a continuation of a mission that began with Saint Katherina Kasper, our foundress, who followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit with courage, simplicity, and unwavering faith. Catherine’s Cottage addition is being built to provide a home where we Sisters can continue to live the gospel and share our lives in service to others through prayer, presence, and ministry.”
Sister Marybeth Martin, PHJC led a moving land acknowledgment and blessing, inviting all present to remember that the community lives, works, and shares space on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Kaskaskia, Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), and Myaamia (Miami) peoples—whose deep connection to the land and waters endures through time.
As part of the ceremony, Rev. Thaddeus Balinda blessed the ground with holy water, transforming the site into sacred space. Attendees were invited to join in the blessing, sprinkling holy water not only on the construction site but also among one another, symbolizing shared hope and unity.
The ceremonial first shoveling brought together PHJC Sisters, Maria Center residents, coworkers, friends, and representatives from DJ Construction, the firm overseeing the project. Each participant took part using gold shovels, marking the beginning of this meaningful endeavor.
A special moment in the ceremony featured Sister Jolise May, PHJC, who used a historic shovel that had previously broken ground in Donaldson—first in 1968 for the groundbreaking of Catherine Kasper Home, then again in 2010 for MoonTree Studios, and now once more for Catherine’s Cottage.
