Adrian Dominican Sisters Issue Statement
Supporting Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land
October 17, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued a statement today supporting the call of the churches in Jerusalem and Pope Francis for global prayer for an end to the escalating conflict in the Holy Land. Below is the statement.
Statement of the Adrian Dominican Sisters
Today we join people of faith around the world in prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land, as called for by the churches of Jerusalem and echoed by Pope Francis.
More than 1,400 children, women and men were massacred in a horrific attack by Hamas last week. Israeli airstrikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip are now estimated to have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians, including children, women and men. Fighting along the northern border of Israel has escalated. The Israeli blockade of food, water and electricity in Gaza has created a humanitarian crisis for more than 2 million inhabitants of the 140 square-mile area. At least 199 Israeli children, women and men, including foreigners, are still being held hostage by Hamas.
“Prayer is the meek and holy force to oppose the diabolical force of hatred, terrorism, and war,” Pope Francis said. Let us all join in this meek and holy force of global prayer today for a resolution to this dire and escalating conflict that restores God’s justice, love, and peace in the Holy Land and in the hearts of all the children of Abraham.
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A Rosary Prayer for Peace, open to the public, will begin at 4:00 p.m. today in St. Catherine Chapel at the Motherhouse of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 E. Siena Heights Dr., Adrian, Michigan.
Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council are Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, and Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilors; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor.
The Dominican Sisters of Adrian, a Congregation of nearly 400 vowed women religious and about 180 Associates, traces its roots back to St. Dominic in the 13th century. The Sisters minister in 21 states, the Dominican Republic, Norway, and the Philippines. The Congregation’s Vision is to “seek truth, make peace, reverence life.”