World AIDS Day Ursuline Sisters Mission is sponsoring a Red Ribbon Display in downtown Youngstown, Ohio to honor the roughly 800 people in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties living with HIV as part of local commemorations for World AIDS Day. Each of the 80 ribbons on Federal Square represents 10 people. Thurs., Dec. 1, 2022, World AIDS Day, the public is invited to an event at that location beginning at 4:15 p.m. Rev. Joseph Boyd of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown will lead the group in prayer, followed by remarks from Mayor Jamael Tito Brown on the work to end HIV and overcome the stigma experienced by those touched by the epidemic. Also speaking will be Laura McCulty Stepp, Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry director, Erin Bishop, Youngstown Health commissioner, and Tim Bortner, founder and president of Full Spectrum Community Outreach. Shelley Turner of Equitas Health and Bortner will lead “A Walk of Remembrance” to Wean Park, where Full Spectrum Community Outreach will host a candlelight vigil to remember those who we have lost to the disease. Equitas Health also will provide warm drinks and snacks from Mocha House. The Premier Bank Tower Clock, Market Street Bridge and the walkway from Wean Park to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater will be lit in red that day in support of World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day was established in 1988 to reflect on the lives lost to HIV/AIDS, and to honor the more than 38 million people worldwide living with HIV.
Honoring 20 years In Ministry The Ursuline Sisters’ HIV/AIDS Ministry is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The ministry is located at the Ursuline Sisters Motherhouse on Shields Road in Canfield. It was 20 years ago when a few small ideas turned into a major undertaking to reach out to people living with HIV and AIDS. Brigid Kennedy, program co-director, said Sister Kathleen Minchin and three other Ursuline sisters were talking one day about where Christ might be ministering in the world if he were physically on earth today. At the time, Sister Kathleen was the chaplain at St. Elizabeth Health Center, and all four women religious had experiences with people who had been treated poorly because of their HIV or AIDS status. Here is our story
Three Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown Celebrating Jubilee The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown will celebrate Sunday, Aug. 5 as three members of our community mark their jubilees (50-year anniversaries). The Sisters, family and friends will attend Mass at 2 p.m. at St. Luke Parish, 5235 South Ave., Boardman, followed by a celebration in the parish hall. Father Joseph Fata will celebrate Mass. Sister Pauline Dalpé, OSU, was born in Woonsocket, R.I., on April 7, 1942. Her parents, Marcel and Yvonne Paul Dalpé, now deceased, moved to Struthers when Sister Pauline was a child. It was at St Charles and St. Nicholas School that she first encountered the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown. Sister Pauline went on to graduate from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1961. She earned her baccalaureate in education from Youngstown State University in 1965, a Master of Science in Education/Religious Education from St. John College, Cleveland, in 1975, and a Master of Science in Education/Counseling from YSU in 1991. She also has completed post-graduate work at Walsh College, North Canton, and Miami University, Oxford. On Sept. 10, 1961, Sister Pauline entered the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown. She was received into the Novitiate Aug. 9, 1962, and made her Final Profession Aug. 6, 1969. Sister Pauline’s ministries have included teaching in elementary education at St. Rose, Girard, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Conception Youngstown, Holy Family, Poland, and St. Charles, Boardman. She also has served on the House of Prayer Core Team, in Parish Ministry at St. Charles and St Rose, for the Diocese of Youngstown as Marriage Tribunal Advocate, at Catholic Charities Regional Agency as counselor and as director of The Ursuline Center from 2008-2010, and in Pastoral Counseling since 2010. Sister Pauline’s short Vocation Story video. To view a short video on her counseling ministry, click here. Sister Patricia McNicholas, OSU, was born in Youngstown on June 20, 1943, to Paul and Mary Frances Dignan McNicholas, who are both deceased. She attended St. Dominic School, Youngstown, and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1961. Sister Patricia earned a baccalaureate in education YSU in 1965, a Master of Arts in religious education from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1976, a Master of Science in administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1988, and a Doctorate in Ministry from United Theological Seminary of Dayton in 1992. Sister Patricia, formerly known as Sister M. Paul, entered the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown Sept. 10, 1961. She was received into the Novitiate Aug. 9, 1962, and made her Final Profession Aug. 6, 1969. Among her many ministries, Sister Patricia has been an educator at St. Charles, St. Nicholas, Ursuline High School, Youngstown, Cardinal Mooney High School, and taught at Walsh College and Ursuline College, Cleveland, as an adjunct professor. As an administrator, Sister Patricia worked in the Department of Religious Education for the Diocese of Youngstown from 1976-1989, serving as its director from ’81-’89. She was the Founding director of the Potter’s Wheel, a program of Beatitude House, which helps disadvantaged women succeed through educational and employment assistance, serving in that capacity from 1997-2001. She has been the Executive Director of Beatitude House since 2001. With locations in Youngstown, Warren, and Ashtabula, Beatitude House has helped thousands of homeless and low-income women and their children break the cycle of poverty by creating homes, providing education and fostering healthy families. Sister Patricia served on the Leadership Team of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown from 1976-1980 and again from 1984-1990, and was General Superior of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown from 1990-1996. She has been very active in the community, serving a member of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches from 1993-2000, as President of Beatitude House Board from 1990-1996, on the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Board from1986-1992, with the National Conference of Directors of Religious Education from 1981-1989, on the Advisory Committee of the National Directors of Religious Education from 1982-1985, with the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education from 1981-1989, on the board of Park Vista from 2006-2010, on the Mahoning County Continuum of Care since 1996, on the Trumbull County Housing Collaborative since 2003, and on the Eastern Gateway Community College Board since 2010. Sister Patricia received the Athena Award from the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber in 2005. Sister Kathleen Minchin, OSU, was born in Youngstown October 5, 1943. Her parents, Richard and Grace Pratt Minchin, are both deceased. Sister Kathleen attended St. Nicholas School and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1961. Sr. Kathleen earned a baccalaureate degree in education from Youngstown State University in 1965, and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology from St. Mary of the Woods, Terre Haute, Ind. in 1992. She also furthered her professional and academic training in the area of spirituality at Creighton University, Omaha, Neb., scripture studies at St. John College, Cleveland, and Walsh College, and in the Clinical Pastoral Education training program at Fairview Hospital, Cleveland. On Sept. 10, 1961, Sister Kathleen, formerly known as Sister M. Noreen, entered the Ursuline Sisters. She was received into the Novitiate Aug. 9, 1962 and made her final profession Aug. 6, 1969. Sister Kathleen’s ministries include serving as an educator in diocesan schools from 1976-1979: St. Patrick and Sacred Heart in Youngstown, Holy Family, Poland, St. Rose, Girard, and St. Charles, Boardman. She lived and ministered with the Carmelite Sisters of Cleveland from 1979-1981. She also served on the House of Prayer Core Team for the Diocese of Youngstown from 1971-1976, as Director of the Ursuline Sisters Company of Angela from 1988-1990, and on the Pastoral Care team at St. Elizabeth Hospital, Youngstown from 1981-1993. In 1993, Sister Kathleen co-founded the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry and has served as its executive director since that time. The Ministry serves primarily low-income children and adults living with HIV/AIDS through a variety of programs, including an adult and pediatric HIV clinic, a food pantry and kitchen, a non-food pantry for household and personal supplies, and child and family support services.
Congratulations Sister Kathleen! Congratulations to Sister Kathleen Minchin, who received the Cardinal Mooney High School Distinguished Alumni Award of 2012 along with football coach Bob Stoops. Sister Kathleen, who leads the HIV/AIDS Ministry for the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, was honored by the Mooney Alumni Association for “demonstrating a continuing concern and dedication for Cardinal Mooney High School and the values it represents.” Sister Kathleen’s acceptance speech.
World Aids Day – El Dia de SIDA Mundial Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. Take a moment to join the Ursuline Sisters and its HIV/AIDS Ministry as we pray for children and adults living with HIV/AIDS in our community and around the world. Pray especially for those who are also vulnerable and marginalized by poverty, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and age. Pray for healing and hope in the face of stigma, prejudice and suffering. Contact the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry to donate or volunteer. Hoy, el primero de diciembre, es El Dia de SIDA Mundial. Pausa por un momento a unirse con las Ursulinas de Youngstwon, Ohio y su ministerio en servicio a ellos que sufren con HIV/SIDA. Pausa y rece por los ninos y adultos del mundo y de nuestra comunidad que estan viviendo con HIV/SIDA. Rece especialmente para ellos quien son debiles y abandonados por pobreza, racismo, orientacion sexual, y edad. Rece por curacion y esperanza enfrente de la discriminacion y sufrimiento. Para dar una donacion o ser voluntario entre nuestro programa, se ponga en contacto con El Ministerio HIV/SIDA a las Hermanas Ursulinas.
Spring Concert to Aid Ursuline Sisters HIV AIDS Ministry St. Columba’s annual Spring Concert is on June 6 at 6:00 p.m. in the cathedral church. The free-will offering taken this evening will benefit the Ursuline Sisters’ HIV/AIDS Ministry this year. The concert will feature Harper Kirk, harpist; Collen McNally Harris, vocalist; and Dr. Daniel Laginya conducting Laura Zaerr’s Celtic Concerto. An evening of good music is planned; everyone is invited. A strawberry social follows the concert.
Happy 15th Anniversary of the Cafe The Ursuline Sisters Ministry to people with HIV/AIDS began in 1993 with a monthly support group. The following year we started to distribute pantry bags on the 3rd Saturday of the month, and in 1995 we decided we needed to bring people together for a longer period of time to have an opportunity to talk and share and visit in a safe environment. At that same time, one of our volunteers suggested that we feed people since not many of them were cooking on a regular basis. That was the impetus for launching the monthly Café which soon became a monthly community. In February of 1995 we held our first Café where the volunteers served dinner to our 25 guests! In November of 1995 we provided each of our Café guests with a complete Thanksgiving dinner, and have done holiday basket food distribution for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter from then on. The Café has served 180 meals since 1995; we have never missed a month and the number of guests continues to grow. We now provide bags to an average of 65 households, and a sit-down meal to 130 men, women and children. In the last fifteen years we have been blessed with wonderful volunteers who work hard to provide the food, cook it and get the auditorium and the bags ready, as well as many groups, churches and individuals who have gifted us with food and a variety of donations that we distribute each month.
Sister Kathleen Minchin was awarded the 5th Annual Ohio Department of Health 2009 Consortium Leadership Award ”] Sister Kathleen Minchin was awarded the 5th Annual Ohio Department of Health 2009 Consortium Leadership Award for her dedication to HIV community planning. In the words of the award presenter, “She offers hope and healing to all those she serves and does so with compassion, grace and humble commitment. Simply put, the gifts she has shared with those in the Youngstown area are immeasurable.” Congratulations Kathleen.
Associate Brigid Kennedy was awarded the 1st Annual Ohio Department of Health Pioneer Award Associate Brigid Kennedy was awarded the 1st Annual Ohio Department of Health Pioneer Award for her leadership, passion and dedication to HIV community planning. According to ODH, Brigid demonstrates “a commitment to the ideals of community planning and the execution of those ideals in an innovative and forward thinking manner.” Brigid was also honored recently as one of the Mahoning Valley Professional’s 40 Under 40 for her professional accomplishments and community service. Brigid was also singled out as one of five MVPs the night of the event. Here is her acceptance speech: “I first want to thank my co-honorees here tonight as well as all of the past and future 40 under 40 honorees for making this Valley a better place to live. Some of us consciously chose to return to our hometowns and others couldn’t imagine ever leaving, but whichever the path, our future is brighter because of you. And I need to thank some important people, some of whom are with me tonight, who are the reason I am here before you. One thing people who know me well can tell you is that my work and my family are the most important things in my life, and that often there’s not much distinction between the two: my family gets co-opted for the cause and those with whom I minister become my family; and then rinse and repeat. My family of birth, my family of choice, my children, the Ursuline Sisters and Associates, our HIV/AIDS Ministry, Children’s Services, Catholic Charities, my parish, my friends, . . . they all overlap and interconnect to lift me up and keep me going, and I am grateful for all of them. St. John of the Cross said “In the evening of life we will be judged by Love.” There are many labors of love going on in the lives of tonight’s honorees. We are all under 40 (though speaking for myself, some of us barely,), so the evening of life is hopefully at some distance, but we can say that we are getting it done now. And I am proud to be counted among you. Thank you.”
Associate Terry Mitchell Awarded 2009 Frontline Nurse Distinguished Service Award Our own Associate Terry Mitchell, RN of the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry clinic, was honored November 21, 2009 in Florida as a 2009 Frontline Nurse Distinguished Service Award by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care at their annual conference. Congratulations Terry. Now the rest of the world knows what we do—our patients couldn’t ask for a better advocate, friend and caregiver.
Ursuline Associate Brigid Kennedy Receives Honor The Mahoning Valley Professionals 20/30 Club and the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley have announced the 40 individuals to be honored at the fifth annual 40 under 40 Awards. The 40 Under 40 Awards program honors Valley residents 40 years old or younger who are making a positive impact in their professions and have demonstrated a commitment to community involvement. Among the 40 honorees for 2009 is Ursuline Associate Brigid Kennedy. Brigid is the Associate Director of the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry. Brigid was selected based on her ministry and community service within our HIV/AIDS Ministry. Five of the 40 honorees will be recognized for special accolades as MVP Award winners during a ceremony 19 Nov 2009 at the Ford Family Recital Hall in the DeYor Performing Arts Center.