Racine Dominican Sisters

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Dominic of St. Catherine of Siena is a Catholic religious institute for women founded in 1862 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

The Racine Dominicans are a community of vowed women religious and lay associates who live according to the mission: committed to truth, compelled to justice.

Work

The sisters work in a variety of ministries. They work as prison ministers, counselors, chaplains, social workers, teachers, pastoral associates, musicians, health care workers, artists, attorneys, bakers, spiritual directors, writers, activists and neighborhood outreach coordinators. Prayer and study are integral to the lives of all Racine Dominican sisters. Racine Dominican sisters serve in eight states: Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin.

"Committed to Truth, Compelled to Justice" is their abbreviated mission statement and is the guiding principle in all that they do. The original and legal name of the Racine Dominicans is Sister of St. Dominic of Saint Catherine of Siena. Being a Dominican order means they are an order of preachers and strive to emulate St. Dominic in all of their various ways of preaching and prayer. They also have a strong bond and admiration for St Catherine of Siena, the other namesake of their order and for their home. They live at Siena Center on the shore of Lake Michigan just north of Racine, Wisconsin. Founded in 1862, by Mother Benedicta Bauer and Mother Thomasina Ginker, both from the monastery of Helig Kreuz in Regensburg, Bavaria, their original mission was to establish a school mainly for German immigrant children.

The Racine Dominicans have begun many significant ministries/organizations, sponsoring them financially and with their human resources calling them 'sponsored ministries'. Many have became obsolete as the need for a particular service diminished and many have been transferred to other organizations in the greater community. The Racine Dominicans currently have six sponsored ministries:

• St. Catherine's High School (est.1864)
• Siena Retreat Center (est. 1966)
• Senior Companion Program (est. 1978)
• Catherine Marian Housing or Bethany Apartments (est. 1990)
• Eco-Justice Center or "Rooted in Hope" (est. 2004)
• HOPES Center of Racine (est. 2008)

The more well known Racine Dominican sisters include Rose Thering, professor of Catholic-Jewish dialogue at the Seton Hall University and Suzanne Noffke, a world-renowned and foremost scholar and author on Catherine of Siena.

See also

• Dominican nuns

Further reading

• The Dominicans of Racine, Wisconsin. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2004-2009.
  • Vol. 1: Noffke, Suzanne. Embrace the Swelling Wave.
  • Vol. 3: Enderle, Dolores. A Time to Grow.

External links

• Racine Dominican Sisters
• St. Catherine's High School
• Siena Retreat Center
• Senior Companion Program
• Catherine Marian Housing or Bethany Apartments
• Eco-Justice Center or "Rooted in Hope"
• HOPES Center of Racine