This episode features Sr. Bonnie Kearney, a Religious of the Sacred Heart. She explores how her philosophy of “broad Catholicism” has permeated through her ministry. She has been missioned both domestically and internationally – from her hometown, Chicago, to Bali, Indonesia. At one point, Sr. Kearney even applied for the Peace Corps, while keeping her role in religious life under wraps. After turning down an offer for Armenia, Sr. Kearney was sent on a mission to Louisiana. In New Orleans, Sr. Kearney worked with groups of young people at Duchesne House, a ministry dedicated to addressing the city’s needs post-Hurricane Katrina, from 2007 through 2019. Since the house’s closure, she has continued to minister in New Orleans as a congregational member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and International Shrine of St. Jude and serves as a group facilitator for the Flourishing Sisterhood certificate program at Loyola University New Orleans.
Trigger Warnings: mentions of medical trauma and death.
The Flourishing Sisterhood Project is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative. The podcast is produced by the Loyola Institute for Ministry and retained by the university’s Digital Humanities Archive.
Thank you to our Loyola University New Orleans student interviewers for this episode: Leila Jones and Duy Do.
Music and sound effects provided by distressbear and t2audio through Pond5.
What is Flourishing Sisterhood ?
The Flourishing Sisterhood Podcast explores what it means to flourish in religious life and beyond. We capture the rich stories and amplify the voices of Catholic religious sisters from the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. Their powerful experiences have deeply transformed the Church and the world. Join us each episode for a new tale of spirituality, resilience, innovation, resolve, and faith in action.
The Flourishing Sisterhood Project is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative. The podcast is produced by the Loyola Institute for Ministry and retained by the university’s Digital Humanities Archive.