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Nancy Burkley Communications Director Sisters of Charity of New York 718-549-9200 ext. 245	S. Judith Fitzgerald, NDSC Sisters de Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Coeur 506-859-1810

Mary Kay Gilbert Communications Director Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati 513-347-5466	S. Imelda Guignard, NDSC Sisters de Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Coeur 506-382-2319

Moncton, NB — More than 80 leaders from 14 women religious congregations across North America met in Moncton June 12 -15 for their annual meeting during which they committed to actions to improve world conditions, particularly poverty and oppression. These leaders represent more than 5,000 women religious from congregations that form the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian tradition and in solidarity with the poor use their corporate power as a Federation for advocacy, witness and systemic change on a global level. The Sisters de Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Coeur hosted the Federation meeting at their motherhouse in Moncton and welcomed in as the newest Federation members the Sisters of Saint Martha of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

“We chose the lighthouse as the theme of this year’s annual meeting,” Sister Judith Fitzgerald, NDSC, president of the Federation executive committee said. “The lighthouse is very meaningful for maritimers. The light is a beacon and guide for those at sea. The same is true in our personal lives – an interior light is needed to guide and comfort us through the good and the difficult times. We come together annually to collectively discern the direction our Light calls us to so that we can make the world a more loving, peaceful and equitable place for all people.”

At this year’s meeting, the Federation committed its members to taking specific actions to work towards helping achieve the United Nations Millennium targets of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and eradicating extreme poverty by 2015. One of the Federation’s major initiatives to eradicate poverty is its sponsorship of a non-governmental (NGO) representative to the United Nations. Sister Marie Elena Dio, SC-Halifax, who serves as the Federation’s NGO representative said: “Our UN-NGO experience has gradually awakened us to the reality of our potential and responsibility as a Federation to impact global poverty in a significant way. We have the skills, knowledge, networks and resources to do so.”

Federation officers for 2003 through 2004 were elected at this year’s meeting. Sister Elaine Owens, SC-New York, was elected president; Sister Joan Verner, SC-Halifax, vice president; Sister Judith Fitzgerald, NDSC, secretary; and Sister Maureen Heverin, SC-Cincinnati, was elected treasurer. Next year’s annual meeting will be held June 10 through 14 in New York City, hosted by the Sisters of Charity of New York.

The internationally acclaimed actress Madame Viola Leger (Canadian Senator) entertained the sisters the evening of June 14 in her role as La Sagouine, the poorly educated but worldly-wise Acadian scrubwoman. She has performed this part over 1,800 times for audiences throughout Canada and Europe. The Young Acadian Singers under the direction of Sister Lorette Gallant, NDSC, and the Notre-Dame du Sacre-Coeur Choir under the direction of Sr. Claudette Melanson, NDSC, also performed for the sisters.

The Federation, originally formed in 1947 to work for the canonization of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, has collaborated on many joint projects through the years including sponsoring the NGO representative and publishing the collected writings of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton.

The Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition is an association of women’s religious congregations in the United States and Canada which trace their roots to Mother Seton’s 1809 foundation of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, or which follow the rule of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. The Federation is committed to the Gospel and serving as advocates for the poor, to collaborating and mutual support and to furthering their common heritage rooted in Saints Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton.