Little Sisters of the Poor honored with “Fishers of Men” award

WASHINGTON – Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori has experienced both the compassionate love and the extraordinary pluck of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

When Archbishop Lori’s mentor, Washington Cardinal James Hickey, was in his declining years and in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor at Jeanne Jugan Residence in Washington, D.C., Archbishop Lori saw how the sisters surrounded him with what he called “love and respect.”

Years later, when Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler was in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Martin’s Home for the Aged in Catonsville, Archbishop Lori witnessed the exact same kind of treatment.

The sisters prepared both men for a holy death, Archbishop Lori said, much in the same way they care for many other elderly people in 19 homes in the United States and 30 other countries.

It’s that same respect for life from conception to natural death that led the Little Sisters of the Poor to the U.S. Supreme Court three times to successfully fight a provision in the Affordable Care Act that required nonprofit employers like them to offer health-insurance plans that paid for contraceptives, including abortifacients.

Archbishop Lori worked with the sisters on their legal challenges when he was the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

“They revere the sacredness of human life,” Archbishop Lori told more than 200 people who gathered April 27 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., for Guadalupe Radio Network’s benefit dinner that honored the Little Sisters of the Poor with its “Fishers of Men” award.

“They promote a family spirit,” Archbishop Lori said. “They are compassionate. They are utterly responsible. And they affect the lives of those they serve as well as their families.”

WMET, the Washington-area affiliate of the Guadalupe Radio Network, broadcasts “Catholic Review Radio,” a program produced by Catholic Review Media.

In accepting the award on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Mother Margaret Regina Halloran, superior of the Jeanne Jugan Residence, said the honor was a “great encouragement” to her religious community. She recalled a recent conversation with Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, the daughter of St. Gianna Molla – a champion of the pro-life movement.

Molla told the sisters there is a great need to teach children from a young age to honor and defend the elderly, just as the unborn must be honored and defended.

“I would just ask you, if some of you have daughters or granddaughters, to tell them a bit about us,” said Mother Margaret Regina, encouraging audience members to ask young people to volunteer in service of the elderly and to be open to religious vocations.

The Fishers of Men benefit dinner, which featured a keynote address by Catholic radio host Debbie Georgiannia, was preceded by a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Lori at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

During the dinner, several speakers highlighted the transformative impact of Catholic radio. Matt Swaim, director of outreach for the Coming Home Network, credited listening to Mass on radio with helping him decide to become a Catholic.

“We have an opportunity every day on Guadalupe Radio Network to experience and share the source and summit of our Catholic worship (the Mass) over the airwaves,” Swaim said. “We get to share the most powerful prayer of the church in the most powerful city in the world.”

Joseph Schuler, WMET development director, noted that in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says those who come after him will become “fishers of men.”

“This is what Guadalupe Radio Network does,” he said. “We fish for souls. We throw out nets via the airwaves in the nation’s capital region and beyond.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org 

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