Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters

  • Services for Sister Ann Thielen, OP

    Services for Sister Ann Thielen, OP

    January 7, 2019

    Sister Ann Thielen entered eternal life on January 5, 2019 at the age of 84 after 59 years of religious life. We commend Sister Ann to your prayers. Remembering Service: Tuesday, January 8 at 7:00 pm Dominican Chapel at Marywood Funeral Mass: Wednesday, January 9 at 11:00 am Dominican Chapel at Marywood Both nurse and […]

  • Sister Inspiration: Diane Dehn, OP

    Sister Inspiration: Diane Dehn, OP

    December 28, 2018

    As an academic advisor with students at Aquinas, I was often inspired by the dedication, determination, and drive of non-traditional students returning to the halls of education. Some students were returning to college to complete a degree or program that they had been unable to finish earlier in their lives. Others were just beginning college […]

  • Sister Inspiration: Margaret Mary Birchmeier, OP

    Sister Inspiration: Margaret Mary Birchmeier, OP

    November 30, 2018

    It was 1965, when Sister Margaret Mary and Sister Innocence Andres, both nurses and midwives, arrived in Chimbote, Peru to initiate a child and maternal care program. When they arrived, they found the Maternity Hospital unfinished — one wall and a concrete slab for a floor — so they spent the first year learning about […]

  • Sister Inspiration: Rose Marie Martin, OP

    Sister Inspiration: Rose Marie Martin, OP

    November 16, 2018

    Long before the first desktop or laptop computer, it was the calm, composed librarian who welcomed the avid and the anxious into the land of books with the question: “How may I help you?” Understanding library etiquette, the card catalog, and book handling rules was first and foremost. From there, the sky was the limit […]

  • Services for Sister Rose Marie Martin, OP

    Services for Sister Rose Marie Martin, OP

    November 14, 2018

    Sister Rose Marie Martin entered eternal life on November 13, 2018 at the age of 76 after 49 years of religious life. We commend Sister Rose Marie to your prayers. Remembering Service: Thursday, November 15 at 7:00 pm Dominican Chapel at Marywood Funeral Mass: Friday, November 16 at 11:00 am Dominican Chapel at Marywood “. […]

  • They Call it Rubble Mountain

    They Call it Rubble Mountain

    November 9, 2018

    “It casts a shadow over the city that they call “new” Stuttgart, raised during the years after World War II. The mountain I stood on is what remains of “old” Stuttgart, razed by bombs dropped by fighter planes. The mountain stands as a permanent reminder to German citizens—and to visitors from all over the world—of the […]

  • Services for Sister Judith Ann Barber, OP

    Services for Sister Judith Ann Barber, OP

    November 5, 2018

    Sister Judith Ann Barber entered eternal life on November 3, 2018 at the age of 83 after 59 years of religious life. We commend Sister Judith Ann to your prayers. Remembering Service: Tuesday, November 6 at 7:00 pm Dominican Chapel at Marywood Funeral Mass: Wednesday, November 7 at 4:00 pm Dominican Chapel at Marywood “You […]

  • A Jubilarian Shares Her Story: Sr. Pat Kennedy, OP

    A Jubilarian Shares Her Story: Sr. Pat Kennedy, OP

    October 26, 2018

    “My decision to become a Sister wasn’t a quick one; there was lots of questioning on my part.” As a young girl, Pat Kennedy dreamed of being a wife and mother. Yet, at the same time, she says, there was a persistent tug to vowed life. She lovingly recalls parents who were devout Catholics, loving, […]

  • Services for Sister Phyllis Lopez, OP

    Services for Sister Phyllis Lopez, OP

    October 22, 2018

    Sister Phyllis Lopez entered eternal life on October 20, 2018 at the age of 85 after 64 years of religious life. We commend Sister Phyllis to your prayers. Remembering Service: Tuesday, October 23 at 7:00 pm Dominican Chapel at Marywood Funeral Mass: Wednesday, October 24 at 11:00 am Dominican Chapel at Marywood Sr. Phyllis’ life […]

  • A Jubilarian Shares Her Story: Sr. Mary Jo Beckett, OP

    A Jubilarian Shares Her Story: Sr. Mary Jo Beckett, OP

    October 19, 2018

    Sister Mary Jo Beckett’s faith and trust in God has remained steadfast throughout her life. In fact, He has held her up through two near-death experiences. In 1982, she was severely injured in a car accident in which Sr. Rose Patrice O’Donnell was killed. In 1994, it was a brain aneurysm that led to hospitalization, […]