The Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence, in collaboration with La Roche University, has planned an experience entitled, Living the Legacy in a Global Modern Society: An Intercultural, Intergenerational Mission Experience. This experience will take place in Rome from June 10-21, 2019, at the site of La Roche University’s Study Abroad program, the Salvadorian Sisters’ property, Villa Maria.

Pictured above: The leadership team reflects the internationality of the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence. The team members are Congregational Leader Sister Maria Fest (USA) (front), Sister Liberata Ricker (Germany) (left), Sister Mary Francis Fletcher (USA) (center), Sister Rosa Eunsoon Kim (South Korea)

The experience will focus on the challenges of globalization and intergenerational collaboration within the Community. The site for the program was chosen because none of the participants call Rome their home. Participants are encouraged to come with a spirit of openness and a willingness to share their experiences and their hopes for the present and the future.

This 11-day experience, also a mission experience, seeks to help prepare our local communities for collaborative ministry by participating in unique outreach to the poor and marginalized in Rome. Sessions are designed to be informative and interactive.

By the end of the first week, participants will be able to recognize cultural and generational differences and develop their own solutions to avoid conflict that might arise in international/intergenerational living and ministry.

The second week is experiential and reflective. In a collaborative service project, participants will discover the challenges of being in an unfamiliar experience and culture. The project, spanning six days, will serve Rome’s neediest populations.

Also included throughout the program schedule of both weeks are opportunities for personal and group reflection. Participants will be asked to reflect on the impact of these lessons on their own religious lives. Through the sessions, service project and reflection, participants will have the opportunity to build the skillset needed to live and work in our new global society.

Our Directors of the Program from LaRoche University, Father Thomas Schaefer and Nicole Gable are pleased to facilitate this experience. Their collective experience in International Education and Ministry will hopefully assist our participants in more deeply discovering the nature of global ministry as lived by the Sisters of Divine Providence.

They hope to create an experience where all participants understand that being global means more than bringing people of different cultures together, it means living interculturally in a global world.

Father Tom and Nicole are responsible for helping students understand the global nature of their experiences at La Roche University and they hope to do this with the Sisters participating in the program as well.

Sister Barbara McMullen, from the Marie de la Roche Province, is a member of the Congregation’s Mission & Internationality Commission. She will be responsible for integrating the charism and mission of the Congregation throughout the sessions, reflections and prayer experiences of the program. Interspersed throughout the program is a visit to the Vatican Museum, a papal audience, if available, and a visit to Villa Mater Dei, the “official” Generalate of the Sisters of Divine Providence.

Participants in the program include six Sisters from our St. Joseph (Korean) Province, three Sisters from the Emmanuel von Ketteler (German) Province, three Sisters from the Marie de la Roche (US/Caribbean) Province and three Sisters from San Miguel (Peruvian) Mission. Besides the Team of three Directors and fifteen participants, the group will also include interpreters for Korean, Spanish and German languages.