Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

ORLANDO, Fla. — The annual assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) gathered more than 800 participants in Orlando, where discussions centered on the evolving nature of religious life and the continued commitment of consecrated women to their mission.

Dominican Sister Maureen Geary, outgoing LCWR president, emphasized that regardless of how religious life changes, the mission remains paramount. "We shall be women who answer the call to serve in this world in which we live — this world that has so much pain and so many needs," she said on August 14. LCWR represents about two-thirds of nearly 36,000 sisters in the United States.

Sister Maureen's address drew from various sources including poets Rainer Maria Rilke and Rumi, theologians St. Joseph Sister Elizabeth Johnson and Frederick Buechner, Sister Thea Bowman, a candidate for sainthood, and Dr. Seuss. She highlighted that it is the journey rather than the destination that shapes individuals.

"It is the process that makes the Synod for Synodality a force for shaping who we shall be," she stated as her term ended on August 16. "By extension of our mission, we also shape society."

The assembly opened on August 13 with welcome messages including one from Sister Simona Brambilla of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. She wrote that “consecrated life can truly be a catalyst for social transformation.”

LCWR leaders acknowledged Florida's historical context as both a site of significant suffering and resilience. Keynote speaker Father Bryan Massingale discussed contemporary issues within Florida as reflective of broader national trends.

Father Massingale noted Pope Francis' assertion that we are experiencing a change of eras rather than an era of change. He addressed rising hatred and division stemming from fear among some white Christians over demographic shifts in America.

“We live in a time of unvoiced and ungrieved loss,” he said, urging religious communities to name and lament these losses to foster new beginnings. “Lamenting allows us to greet the arrival of the new as a gift, not a threat.”

As LCWR’s next president, Sister Kathy will guide this journey forward after taking office at the end of the assembly. Dominican Sister Maureen Geary transitioned to past-president while Sister Vicky Larson became president-elect.

Sister Kathy's background includes teaching inner-city schools in Chicago before joining the Sisters of St. Joseph congregation in 1983. She co-founded Taller de José ministry and worked with Chicago Archdiocese’s Renew My Church initiative before being elected to leadership roles within her congregation and LCWR.

In May, LCWR appointed her to fill out Sister Sue Ernster’s term as president-elect after Ernster resigned due to other commitments within her congregation.

“God had a different plan,” Brazda said regarding her unexpected appointment.