Keynote Address
From Strings to Yeast: How is the Pandemic Challenging Us?
Mary Pellegrino, CSJ
A transformation of religious life throughout the world has been underway for decades. At times, the changes have left many anxious and concerned about mission and purpose and whether women religious are or have “enough.” In this keynote Sr. Mary will explore how the Covid-19 pandemic and the global racial justice movement have both accelerated those questions and illuminated a path forward marked by renewed opportunities and understandings of abundance and abundant opportunity for women religious.
From 2008 to 2018 Sister Mary Pellegrino served as Congregational Moderator of her community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pa. From 2015 to 2018 Mary also served in the presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States. In both of those roles Mary worked to support, encourage and promote the ongoing renewal of religious life in the face of unprecedented challenges and changes in the church, American society and the global community. Currently, Mary assists religious communities in planning for the future through the lens of mission in her role with the Religious Institutes Service Group of Plante Moran, PLLC. Prior to serving in congregational leadership, Mary served in vocation/formation ministries for her congregation as well as parish and campus ministries. Over the years Mary has written and presented extensively on topics related to vocation/formation and religious life. She holds a Master’s degree in Christian Spirituality and a certificate in Spiritual and Retreat Direction from Creighton University, along with a Master’s degree in Religious Education from Fordham University.
CWR CONFERENCE 2021 AV SPONSOR:
VISION Vocation Network, the most comprehensive multimedia resource for those discerning a religious vocation, welcomes more than 350,000 visitors each year to its website VocationNetwork.org. The annual VISION Vocation Guide is distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada in print and around the world in digital format. And more than 5,000 new and unique inquirers complete VISION Vocation Match profiles each year to learn more about the vocation that might be right for them. Communicators, VISION reaches the audience you want to reach!