Sisters honor past, present White Violet Center directors

During its 26th Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 18, in honor of the 30th anniversary of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, a ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, the Congregation honored the four directors the ministry has had since its inception.

White Violet Center was established in 1996. The honored directors included Sister Ann Sullivan, SP, founder of White Violet Center; Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ; Lorrie Heber; and current director Mary Riley.

Prior to this year’s festival, at the suggestion of the Climate Crisis Task Force, the Congregation elected to begin honoring a person or persons annually with the Laudato Si’ award. The award recognizes an individual or group whose work embodies the spiritual, ecological and justice-centered vision of Laudato Si’. It also affirms the honorees’ ongoing commitment to ecological conversion and environmental justice rooted in Providence Spirituality.

General Superior Sister Dawn Tomaszewski, SP, said the award was created to “acknowledge and honor those who live this calling of care for creation with extraordinary faithfulness, who embody this vision through action, leadership and hope.

“It is not just an award we will give today. It is a recognition of a lived commitment to ecological stewardship, solidarity and integral human development,” Sister Dawn continued.

Moving forward, the award will be given annually during the Earth Day Festival at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

“Since 1998, White Violet Center has been gathering folks on our beautiful campus to celebrate Earth – our common home – and to remind us that we need to take better care of that home,” Sister Dawn said. “The Laudato Si’ award is named for the encyclical or solemn letter promulgated by (the late) Pope France in 2015 entitled Laudato Si’, a phrase that means, ‘Praise be to you.’ That phrase actually comes from the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, entitled Canticle of the Creatures, in which he praises all of creation, Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and who, in truth devoted his life to a spirituality of caring for all of creation.

“Pope Francis certainly followed in this saint’s footsteps with the encyclical, which he subtitled ‘On Care for Our Common Home.’”

Each recipient received a certificate of appreciation during the ceremony. In addition, the Sisters of Providence had four trees planted on the grounds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to honor each awardee.

Sister Dawn then offered a history of accolades and accomplishments for each WVC director.

Sister Ann Sullivan

“Sister Ann Sullivan is the founding director of the White Violet Center,” Sister Dawn began. “Like most Sisters of Providence, Sister Ann participated in the General Chapter in 1991, during which we, as a community, committed to deepening our understanding of the principles of eco-justice and environmental responsibility.

“But it was Ann who had the vision and the genes for how that could happen. She comes from a family of farmers.”

Notable accomplishments of Sister Ann included the dedication and opening of WVC in 1996; establishing a plan developed by a task force; and implementing eight areas of focus for the center, including beautification, land use, recycling, spirituality, social action, education, energy use and administration.

“Perhaps what was most challenging for Sister Ann and her team was changing the way things were done – like moving from conventional farming to organic farming and maintaining our wetlands and caring for our forests in a planned way.

“Probably one of her finest moments was finding just the right livestock to complement the farm’s work – who knew those alpacas would become campus celebrities and a wonderful model for community living?”

Sister Maureen Freeman

Sister Maureen, a Sister of St. Joseph, was the second director for WVC. Sister Dawn said during her tenure, the fiber industry continued to expand while Sister Maureen also introduced chickens to the center as well as establishing a business plan to help develop the center’s sustainability.

“One of the great gifts of that plan was the introduction of the chickens,” Sister Dawn said. “Finally, the alpacas had some fine feathered friends.

“Maureen certainly built on the work of Sister Ann. Both Ann and Maureen served on the committee that wrote a Land Ethic to guide decision-making regarding land care, product use and recycling on this campus.”

Lorrie Heber

Lorrie, the third director of the center, established the words on White Violet Center T-shirts, “Teaching, caring, inspiring for all creation.” In addition, during her tenure, baking workshops grew and flower growing, arranging and selling began.

The commercial kitchen was also established during Lorrie’s time and the White Violet Farm Store opened.

“I might best describe Lorrie’s time at White Violet by using her words, still found on a video that is posted on the White Violet page of our website: ‘Caring for creation is the coolest job on this planet. We really love what we do,’” Sister Dawn said.

“During Lorrie’s time, White Violet Center earned the Green Light Award to celebrate Hoosier solutions to our climate crisis,” Sister Dawn added.

Mary Riley

The director since 2022, Mary had served as the marketer of the ministry before moving over. Under her direction, White Violet has expanded its community outreach, received a USDA grant enabling it to provide food equivalent to more than 9,600 meals for the food-insecure of the Wabash Valley. Tours on campus have also increased.

“Mary stepped into the role beautifully,” Sister Dawn said. “And a year and a half ago, she was asked to take on the role of Executive Director of the Ministry of the Woods, which includes overseeing the direction of White Violet Center.”

“For 30 years, our community has been stronger and better because these four women have led the charge in collaborating, engaging and educating as directors of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice,” Sister Dawn said.

“Let me invite each of us to pause, while you are here enjoying Earth Day, to offer a prayer of gratitude for the beauty of creation, the resilience of the human spirit, and leaders like these women we honored today, who guide us toward hope. May each of us renew our own commitment to protect the world God has entrusted us.”