Dominican Sisters of Peace

rdf:langString Dominican Sisters of Peace

rdf:langString The Dominican Sisters of Peace is a congregation of Dominican Sisters of apostolic life, founded on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, from the union of seven former Dominican foundations. With general offices in Columbus, Ohio, the congregation holds legal incorporation in the state of Kentucky, home of the founding community of earliest historical origin. In 2012, following a vote by their General Chapter, the Dominican sisters of Catherine de' Ricci became the eighth foundation to join the Dominican Sisters of Peace. * 1822: Dominicans of St. Catharine, founded in Washington County, (later St. Catharine), Kentucky * 1830: Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, founded in Somerset, Ohio; moved to Columbus, Ohio 1868 * 1860: Congregation of St. Mary, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana * 1880: Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de' Ricci, founded in Albany, New York (later moved to Elkins Park, Pennsylvania) * 1902: Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kansas, founded in Great Bend, Kansas * 1927: Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Eucharist; incorporated into the Dominican Order in 1956 as the Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic. * 1929: Sisters of St. Dominic of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, founded in Akron, Ohio * 1950: Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, founded in Oxford, Michigan. The process by which the original seven Dominican communities came together to form a new religious institute, a pontifical canonical union with formal recognition by the Vatican, is known as reconfiguration. As demographics changed following the cultural movements of the late 20th century, the seven congregations determined to collaborate in this manner so that their mission could be most effectively realized. All shared the Dominican charism and found support for this new endeavor in Perfectae Caritatis, one of the documents issued by the Second Vatican Council: "Independent institutes and monasteries should, when opportune and the Holy See permits, form federations if they can be considered as belonging to the same religious family. Others who have practically identical constitutions and rules and a common spirit should unite, particularly when they have too few members. Finally, those who share the same or a very similar active apostolate should become associated, one to the other."The deliberations that led to the merger took place over a period of seven years, culminating in the inaugural General Chapter of April 15–21, 2009. The first Leadership Team of the new congregation was elected during that General Chapter. At the time of the foundation of the new religious institute, the Dominican Sisters of Peace numbered more than 650 members, with more than 500 associates. As of 2017, the community has 510 members, and over 600 lay associates.