Editor's Report

Renewal Brings Life to Franciscan Handmaids of Mary Centennial

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As Sister Gertrude Lilly Ihenacho, F.H.M., the congregation minister of the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, explained during an upbeat interview about the religious congregation’s centennial anniversary this year, things did not appear nearly as bright a few years ago.

In 2010, the Harlem-based congregation was “at a crossroads, deciding what to do,” Sister Gertrude Lilly said Monday. As members prepared for a general assembly, they reflected on the upcoming meeting at retreats and confronted larger questions such as whether to strive for a path of renewal involving change and growth or pursue less appealing prospects that would ultimately result in the congregation’s closure.

They studied a Scripture passage from the third chapter of the Book of Revelation that begins, “I know your works, that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”

The sisters ultimately decided to embrace “authentic renewal,” by following Christ and his Gospel and transforming themselves in response to the needs presented by the times and the people they serve, Sister Gertrude Lilly said.

With a congregation that, like many, had many senior sisters and declining numbers, they embraced technology and used the web to promote themselves to prospective members. They held weekend retreats for young people. Inquiries to the traditionally African American order, which was founded in Savannah, Ga., and moved to Harlem at the request of Cardinal Patrick Hayes in 1923, came from the United States, Africa and the Caribbean.

The initial inquiries did not lead to a flood of vocations. Heading into the next general assembly, in 2014, the congregation was confronting the same questions. It looked like closure was a real possibility; in fact, they were looking at options for that eventuality.

Several factors turned the tide in the other direction, Sister Gertrude Lilly explained. One was the Pope Francis effect, with his call to religious “to wake up and go into the periphery and change the way the Catholic Church was doing things.” At about the same time, Cardinal Dolan was outlining the archdiocese’s own pastoral planning initiative, Making All Things New. The confluence of the new approaches, Sister Gertrude Lilly said, left the sisters determined “to make all things new” in their own congregation.

Sister Gertrude Lilly, a native of Nigeria, soon traveled to her homeland to interview more than 20 women from Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana who had expressed interest in learning more about the Franciscan Handmaids of Mary. Seven were selected to pursue religious studies. The congregation soon established a mission house in Nigeria. Three of the postulants have come to New York, where they are studying theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie.

When asked what the younger women meant to the sisters’ mission, Sister Gertrude Lilly said, “A light in the tunnel has shone for us. They are interested in studying our foundation, our history and forming bonds with our senior sisters.”

The sisters have a full schedule of anniversary events, the first being their Centennial Gala at the New York Academy of Medicine in Manhattan on Tuesday, March 29, beginning with a reception at 6 p.m. Cardinal Dolan will speak. Honorees will include Bishop Edward Kenneth Braxton of Belleville, Ill., as well as Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League; Wendy Oxenhorn, vice chairman and executive director of Jazz Foundation of America; Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem; and Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of The National Action Network. Singer Melba Moore and Broadway actress Carmen Ruby Floyd will perform. Tickets: $150 and up. Proceeds will help revitalize St. Benedict’s Day Nursery, conducted by the sisters for children ages 2 to 4. Information: FHMCentennial@gmail.com

Another centennial program very much in keeping with the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the spirit of the Franciscan Handmaids of Mary is their “100 Days of Kindness” campaign, which runs through April 14. They are asking New Yorkers to perform random acts of kindness each day. The acts can be as small as sharing a smile with someone who needs one or buying a cup of coffee for a stranger. Reports have also come in about people who have volunteered to serve at soup kitchens and food pantries served by the sisters.

“It’s the kind of thing we’ve done all along,” Sister Gertrude Lilly said.