Kathleen Desautels

Last updated
Sister Kathleen Desautels, SP
NationalityAmerican
Employer 8th Day Center for Justice

Sister Kathleen Desautels, S.P., is a community organizer and social justice activist. A Roman Catholic nun, she is a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Biography

Desautels has worked for 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago, Illinois for over 25 years, focusing on issues of human rights, women in the church, institutional power, and peace. [1] Previously she ministered as an elementary school teacher, a prison chaplain and a pastoral associate. [2]

Desautels attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College [3] and went on to receive a Masters in religious studies from La Salle University. [1] She joined the Sisters of Providence in 1960 and became a fully professed sister in 1968. [2]

For her work as a prominent activist, Desautels has been profiled by Rolling Stone [4] and the Chicago Tribune , [5] among others. She was also featured in the 2012 documentary Band of Sisters , directed and produced by Mary Fishman. [6]

Desautels has been arrested numerous times for acts of non-violent civil disobedience. In the early 1990s she was involved with labor movement protests during the A. E. Staley Lockout and was arrested twice. [7] [8] In November 2001 Desautels, dressed in a funeral shroud and carrying a symbolic foam coffin, [9] trespassed onto federal property at Fort Benning outside Columbus, Georgia as part of a protest against the US Army School of the Americas. As a result, Desautels served a six-month prison sentence as a "prisoner of conscience". [10]

Related Research Articles

Drew Walter Peterson is an American convicted murderer and former police sergeant who was found guilty in 2012 of the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a few months after their 2003 divorce. Peterson first received national publicity in 2007 when his fourth wife, Stacy Ann Cales Peterson, disappeared. Although the police and Stacy Ann's family suspect foul play, she has never been found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute</span> Medium-security United States prison in Indiana

The Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods</span> Apostolic congregation of Catholic women (1840–)

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodore and her companions left the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, at the invitation of the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, to found the Sisters of Providence in the United States. In 1843, the Indiana congregation became independent of the religious institute in Ruillé, and the Rules of the Congregation were approved by the Holy See in 1887.

Alexa Suelzer was an American author, educator and theologian known for her Old Testament criticism. A Roman Catholic religious sister, she was a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. One of her most cited works is her essay "Modern Old Testament Criticism" in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. In addition to her writing, she taught for twenty years at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Knoerle</span>

Sister Jeanne Knoerle, S.P., was an author, educator and theologian. A Roman Catholic religious sister, she was a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana from 1968 to 1983. Other posts were with the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and with the Lilly Endowment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Doherty</span> American educator and theologian (1931–2020)

Barbara Doherty was an educator and theologian. A Roman Catholic religious sister, she was a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana from 1984 to 1998. Other posts have been as director of the Institute of Religious Formation at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, president of the Indiana Conference of Higher Education, and on national boards of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Women's College Coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Cecilia Bailly</span>

Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1856–1868, directly succeeding the congregation's foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. During her time in office, she began rebuilding the Academy and sent Sisters of Providence to staff military hospitals in Indianapolis and Vincennes, Indiana during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasie Brown</span>

Mother Anastasie Brown, S.P.,, was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1868 to 1874. During her term, the congregation had financial difficulties stemming from the Panic of 1873. Both prior to and following her time in office, Brown was Directress of the Academy, a women's college run by the Sisters of Providence now known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphrasie Hinkle</span> Educator and Catholic leader from the USA

Mother Euphrasie Hinkle, S.P. was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1883 to 1889. She was a convert from Methodism. During her term, she established missions of the Sisters of Providence in Chicago, Illinois and Chelsea, Massachusetts. She began building the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds in 1886. She died in office August 27, 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Helene Franey</span> American educator and Catholic leader (1898–1953)

Mother Marie Helene Franey, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1948-1953. In 1952, she was appointed by the Sacred Congregation of Religious in Rome to serve on an International Commission of 40 superior generals. She was one of three superior generals from the United States to serve on this Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gertrude Clare Owens</span>

Mother Gertrude Clare Owens, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1954 to 1960. During her term, she established a sister-formation program to help develop new postulants and novices. She also built a new novitiate at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, which was later named Owens Hall in her honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pius Regnier</span>

Mother Mary Pius Regnier, S.P. was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1966 to 1976. She held office immediately following the Second Vatican Council, a time when Roman Catholic congregations underwent drastic changes. Regnier began the process for revising the Congregation's Constitutions to bring it into accordance with the Church's recommendations for the renewal of religious life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loretta Schafer</span>

SisterLoretta Schafer, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1976 to 1981. In 1977, she worked with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop and construct the Maryvale Retirement Complex at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Sister Anne Doherty, S.P., was an American religious sister, educator, professor and psychologist. She served as the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1981–1986. During her term, the Constitutions of the Sisters of Providence gained papal approbation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecilia Clare Bocard</span> Musician and composer from the USA

Sister Cecilia Clare Bocard, S.P., was an American musician and composer of works for organ, piano, and chorus.

8th Day Center for Justice was a Roman Catholic non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. Named after the Christian concept of an eighth day, it was founded in 1974 by six congregations of religious men and women. The center was advocacy-centered and was associated with over 40 religious communities, allowing the congregations to pool their resources for the work.

Donna Quinn was a Catholic nun and a lifelong feminist activist who was known for her involvement with the National Coalition of American Nuns and association with Women-Church Convergence (W-CC).

The 1967 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as independent during the 1967 NCAA College Division football season. Led by 12th-year head coach Howard Fletcher, the Huskies compiled a record of 5–5. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

SisterDenise Wilkinson, S.P. is a Catholic leader, writer and educator. She was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 2006 to 2016. During her term, the congregation's foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was canonized a saint. Wilkinson also oversaw the founding of the Providence Associates program, the renovation of several properties at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and long-range planning for the Sisters of Providence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Jean</span> American religious sister and chaplain

Sister Jean, BVM, is an American religious sister of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chaplain for the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team of Loyola University Chicago.

References

  1. 1 2 "Staff and Volunteers". 8th Day Center for Justice. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Cox, Dave (27 May 2012). "Sister Kathleen Desautels featured in Chicago Tribune". Sisters of Providence. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Father-Daughter Event Under Way At St. Mary's". The Terre Haute Tribune. Terre Haute, Indiana. 16 Apr 1959. p. 18. Retrieved 3 March 2016– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ Binelli, Mark (22 November 2012). "The Sisters Crusade". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Trice, Dawn Turner (21 May 2012). "At NATO protest, it's clear Catholic nun is a powerhouse in the peace movement". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kathleen Desautels". Band of Sisters. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Ashby, Steven K. and C. J. Hawking (2009). Staley: The Fight for a New American Labor Movement. University of Illinois. ISBN   9780252034374.
  8. ↑ "Nuns jailed for failing to pay fines" . Alton Telegraph. AP. 20 Jan 2001. pp. A5. Retrieved 25 June 2015– via Find My Past.
  9. ↑ "Nun sentenced for protest" . Daily Herald Suburban Chicago. 18 July 2002. p. 12. Retrieved 25 June 2015– via Find My Past.
  10. ↑ "Prisoners and Probationers of Conscience". Sisters of Providence. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.