Students from Mount Notre Dame High School have crafted powerful reflections on justice, service, and faith in action as part of their application to attend the historic honoring of Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, at the Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola in Rome. Sister Dorothy dedicated her life to serving alongside communities in Brazil that were made poor and advocating for preserving the Amazon rainforest. Her ultimate sacrifice on February 12, 2005, standing firm in her commitment to justice, continues to inspire people worldwide. We will share one student's essay daily as we count down to February 12, 2025, the 20th anniversary of Sister Dorothy's martyrdom.
Kendal G.
This is a once in a life time experience to celebrate Sister Dorothy and it would be an honor to be chosen to go. I think I should be chosen to participate because like Sister Dorothy, I have always found the most joy and impact from serving others and see this trip to be deeply impactful. I enjoy leading while serving at MND through various clubs like Winton Place Youth Center and Sources of Strength. I love to be active in the MND community, and I would be grateful to celebrate Sister Dorothy's recognition with the community. Unique qualities I would bring to the group is being a person that is very outgoing and say yes to participating in many opportunities to maximize every experience. I think learning from experiences is a crucial aspect to everything and want to grow through this trip and share my perspective with others when we get back.
Sister Dorothy Stang's life mission was to answer her call from God to protect and advocate for the environment and poor in Brazil. Sister Dorothy grew up Catholic and wanted to become a nun from an early age, specifically a missionary helping the poor. After one other mission trip, Sister Dorothy was selected to go to Brazil to help the citizens there grow and learn in their faith. Dot was shocked to see the conditions when she arrived and that's when she started her life's work of advocating for peasant farmers, teaching the citizens of Brazil Catholicism, and protecting the Amazon by working with the government and talking directly to the people harming the environment through logging and cattle ranching. Sister Dorothy's brave, direct, and resilient personality made it very dangerous to be in Brazil and when she came back to the U.S., she was advised not to go back, but she did not listen since she felt the people still needed her and her work was not done yet. She was put on a kill list by some of the ranchers, and one day three hired gunmen approached her and shot her dead while she read the Beatitudes aloud.
The opportunity to witness Sister Dorothy's recognition as a Christian martyr would mean so much to me. Watching "They Killed Sister Dorothy" movie in Morality class where they showed Sr. Dorothy's body after being shot was gory, but inspirational seeing someone so strong in their faith and work for justice to die for it. She inspires me to work for justice in areas that I am passionate about and stay committed to standing up for what is right through challenges and even dangers. When I think about martyrs, I think about saints that are from the Medieval Age, but Sister Dorothy is not only a modern Christian martyr, but one that is a part of our MND community. Sister Dorothy deepens my faith by showing that being a Christian is something that needs to be put in action and calls for protection of God's creation and spreading His message.