10th DSIC General Assembly: Widows and Midwives…Where Past and Future Meet

The 10th DSIC General Assembly will take place from May 11 to May 16, 2025 in Rome, Italy. The Assembly is the triennial gathering at which DSIC’s goals are given targeted orientation for a three-year period.

The theme chosen for this meeting is: Widows and Midwives…Where Past and Future Meet.

Sr. Margaret Mayce, OP, DSIC International Coordinator, offered a reflection about the theme:

Widows…We all know that we live in a time of diminished capacity. Membership in our Congregations is decreasing in most parts of the world; there are few new vocations; the number of retired and elderly Sisters generally far exceeds the number of Sisters who are younger and involved in active ministry; the number of Sisters who are available and capable of serving in Congregational leadership has decreased considerably. How do we deal with this reality? Some Congregations believe that they have fulfilled the purpose for which God called them, and have decided to bring their Congregations to completion. Other Congregations have decided to merge with a larger group; and some have asked for a Commissary to help them manage their affairs as they move towards completion. 

Who among us would have ever believed that this would be the case when we entered religious life? We rightly mourn the losses we are experiencing in our Congregations today, as a widow mourns the loss of a beloved partner. There is grief; there is sorrow; perhaps anger; and  even a sense that there is simply no future on the horizon. Yet, this is our reality – or at least part of our reality.  However…it is not the whole story. Because we carry within us not only the widow, but also the midwife.

Midwives…While the numbers of younger Sisters among us may not be as great as in previous times, their desire to live out their Dominican vocations in service of God’s people is none the less strong.  While they are committed to their home Congregations, they see the value in coming together across whatever seems to divide them: continents; language; culture; individual Congregational loyalties. Our gathering in Caleruega was a shining example of this! As was the online Leadership Development Program. At the Assembly, you will be invited to hear from the Sisters themselves about these experiences, and what they believe is important for their future and for ours as well. 

 I sense that there is a growing awareness among them that at the end of the day, even if individual Congregations cease to exist, the larger Dominican charism which we share, continues. And I believe that it is our focus on this larger charism which has the power to draw us into the future together. Can you believe this too?

Can we accompany our younger Sisters and be midwives of this future?  Can we honor our past, without clinging to it, so that we can be free to usher in the next phase of our history as Apostolic Dominican Sisters? We need to acknowledge both the widow and the midwife we carry within us…and then, we need to choose. Will we remain in the past, and block off new possibilities? Or will we move gently and firmly into what is still an unknown future – a future which is ours to create – if we listen to one another; support one another; encourage one another to use her gifts; and never underestimate the power of what can happen if we dream together. 

We are fond of quoting our sister, Catherine of Siena – 

Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire!

Well, Sisters,  maybe this is our moment in history to do just that; and do it together!