The Dominican Melting Pot
As our melting pot of a country celebrates Independence
Day, I’m celebrating a reunion with two of my sisters from the Collaborative
Dominican Novitiate (CDN) – Christina Atienza, OP of the Dominican Sisters of
San Rafael and Bea Tiboldi, OP of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Together with two women who have since been
beckoned by God to other life paths and with our two Directors, Joye Gros, OP
(Peace Dominican) and Megan McElroy, OP (Grand Rapids Dominican), we shared
space, experiences and an unforgettable year together in St. Louis in
2013-2014. The seeds sown then have
sprouted into deep bonds of affection, friendship, sisterhood and a life-long
family connection!
Our little St. Louis family is a representative slice of
both the larger Dominican family and the United States. We are intergenerational,
inter-congregational, and inter-cultural.
I was the oldest novice and a mother.
Bea (pronounced “Bay-uh”), originally from Budapest, Hungary, taught Religion
to 1st through 6th graders in Akron, Ohio. She is moving soon to Connecticut where she
will be living with other sisters in a house of discernment, working in two
parishes as a Pastoral minister, and studying theology part-time. Christina, born and raised in Manila,
Philippines, moved with her family to the Bay Area when she was 18. While her degree is in Civil Engineering, she
has spent the past two years at Dominican University in San Rafael as a campus
minister. She is moving soon to San
Francisco to study theology full-time at GTU.
Sisters Joye and Megan continue to hold down the fort at the CDN as Co-Directors.
I’m grateful to God for each of these women. They have
broadened my world perspective and enriched my life beyond measure!
How about you? How
have you experienced and welcomed the world as melting pot?
Kathy Flynn, OP
Whitefish Bay, WI
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