Presentation at St. Xavier High School, by Sister Judi Clemens, SNDdeN
Sister Dorothy Stang once said: “We must be poor with the poor and recapture a tender and kind relationship with Mother Earth. Then we will know how to act.”
I congratulate St. X faculty and student body, you are truly “soulmates of Dorothy Stang”! This is not the first time for the Sister Dorothy Stang Award presentation in these hallowed halls. Here solidarity reverberates with Dorothy’s faith, wisdom and action. After Dorothy was martyred in 2005, we Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati partnered to continue Dorothy’s legacy. We seek to recognize teachers, staff and students who foster Dorothy’s lived values of solidarity with the poor, care for the earth and love of Jesus Christ and His mission.
Nineteen years have passed since Dorothy was martyred in the new federally authorized sustainable development community of Esperança in Anapu, Pará Brazil. In 2025 we will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Dorothy’s martyrdom. Hers is a story that needs to be told, especially since youth today were not even born when Dorothy died. We have been told by young people that her story is important for them because they long for modern spiritual role models…saints for our times. And Dorothy’s story highlights vividly Pope Francis exhortations Laudato Si and Laudate Deum. Long before Francis called our attention to integral ecology, Dorothy was living it! Dorothy believed deeply in the interrelatedness and goodness of all creation. I encourage all of you to find ways to incorporate Dorothy’s story into your curriculum next year.
I invite you today to rejoice with me affirming that Dorothy’s legacy is alive and well here. I congratulate Katie Collins and award her this Sister Dorothy Stang recognition “Her Dream Our Hands.” You know Katie Collins as a loving and passionate educator who has served 11 years on this treasured faculty. I love your creativity Katie especially in offering seniors the Faith in the Wild course. And the prairie project! Wonderful! You truly share with Dorothy great love for Mother Earth and you understand what our founder St. Julie Billiart said: “Teach them everything they need for life.”
I close with the words of one of your students: “She does more than just teach about our moral and innate human responsibility to be caretakers of God’s creation, but is a daily example of the environmentally conscious and spiritually reflective steward that Pope Francis calls each and every one of us to be.” CONGRATULATIONS!