Five members of the Montreal-based Sisters of Providence Congregational Leadership Team visited Sisters and staff members throughout the Mother Joseph region this spring.
Congregational Leader Sr. Alba Letelier, SP, along with congregational councilors Srs. Hilaria Suzette Bautista, SP, María Antonieta Trimpay, SP, Hélène Mamert Nga Amogo, SP, and Anne Hemstock, SP, met with each of the Mother Joseph local communities and with the administrative center staff during the canonical visit.
As Congregational Leader, Sr. Alba Letelier also personally met with each Sister in a one-on-one meeting.
“One of the key questions I ask when meeting with a Sister is about her health: her physical health, spiritual health, mental health, community health, and ministry health,” said Sr. Alba Letelier. With those insights gained, she then considers, “what we can do now for helping the needs of the Sisters, and of the body of the congregation.”
A primary theme of the trip was open dialogue on the Journey to Oneness governance model, which took effect on January 1, 2025. The configuration has arranged the Sisters of Providence congregation into three administrative areas (Mother Joseph in the United States, El Salvador, and the Philippines; Emilie Gamelin in Canada and Haiti; and Bernarda Morin in Chile). Each area has a three-Sister Core Group of leaders, along with an administrative team. A key goal of the model is to open space for collaboration and partnership throughout the full congregation.
The Leadership Team’s first leg of travel included visits to Sisters in Seattle, Renton, Ephrata and Spokane in Washington; and to Burbank and West Covina, California.
In May, the Congregational Leadership Team also made a canonical visit to the Bernarda Morin area in Chile, which was followed with a visit to the Mother Joseph Sisters based in El Salvador.