[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 11, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE INAUGURAL CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL CATHOLIC SISTERS WEEK

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2014

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the inaugural 
celebration of National Catholic Sisters Week. National Catholic 
Sisters Week is a worthy addition to National Women's History Month and 
will be recognized each year during the second week of March.
  National Catholic Sisters Week is being launched by the Sisters of 
Saint Joseph at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. 
The week is intended to recognize the many contributions made by 
Catholic sisters around the world, past and present, to support and 
advance children, education, health care and anti-poverty efforts.
  In the 1800s, many Catholic nuns moved to the American West with the 
frontier, settling into dangerous territories to build hospitals and 
schools for immigrant communities. They provided aid during the Chicago 
fire, cared for orphans during the California Gold Rush and brought 
professional nursing skills to field hospitals during the Civil War.
  In the 1900s, American nuns opened thousands more hospitals, built 
the Nation's largest private school system, and brought the Catholic 
Church into the Civil Rights movement with courage and vision.
  The good works of our Catholic sisters continue to be a saving grace. 
Today they press the frontlines of social change, gathering in chapels, 
at kitchen tables and at the steps of cathedrals and capitols. They 
shelter homeless families, aid immigrants, tutor students, guide 
pregnant teens, launch nonprofits, care for the environment and fight 
human trafficking. Their blood, sweat and prayers are a powerful force 
providing peace, comfort and justice to so many throughout our Nation, 
and indeed the world.
  I am grateful that the Sisters of Saint Joseph were part of my own 
education and mentorship as I pursued my higher education at Saint 
Catherine's. Their great generosity of spirit and wise leadership 
continue to help to guide my own commitment in Congress to excellence 
in education, protecting the environment and expanding health care 
access for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize the very first of many 
National Catholic Sisters Weeks. We owe a debt of gratitude to the 
Catholic sisters who sustain our great Nation day in and day out.

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