Dear Board Members and National Presidents,

 

We hope that you are well and enjoying some rest and relaxation. Summertime is always a welcome time in New Orleans. Things seem to move at a somewhat slower pace than they do during the other seasons. We all appreciate the opportunity to spend more time with our families, especially our children and grandchildren who are on vacation.

 

Congratulations to those of you who are newly elected national presidents. We know that you will continue to serve with the dedication and commitment of your predecessors.

 

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since the magnificent AMASC Congress in Sydney! Many things have happened since then; please allow me to share some of these with you.

 

Last October 2002, it was my privilege to address the EXASAC Congress in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Prior to the congress, we spent several days in Monterrey. It was a great opportunity to discuss AMASC business as well as enjoy the warm hospitality of our Sacred Heart family in that fascinating city. It was a wonderful way to embark on my journey through the years to come!

 

Rosario de la Garza de Dominguez, EXASAC President, and her congress committee, did a magnificent job in planning and implementing a most interesting and productive meeting. Being in San Luis Potosi brought back many fond memories of another great AMASC Congress!

 

Keynote speaker, Dr. Luis Lenero, presented an excellent dissertation on "Mexico's Sociocultural Mutations of the XXI Century and an Outlook on the Issues". The inspirational RSCJ panel and slide presentation, "Sacred Heart Society; Way of Hope" was led by Sr. Socorro Rubio, Mexican Provincial, and her team. Sr. Guadalupe Muggenburg, rscj, coordinated the workshops. I was particularly grateful to Yolanda Charles for doing such a splendid job as my personal interpreter!

 

Among the highlights of the meeting were visits to the school, beautiful liturgies in the school chapel, and special visits to Mater's Chapel. The lovely Home Dinners and Potosina Night were truly memorable events. All enjoyed delightful entertainment provided by EXASAC Guadalajara alums!

 

I was honored to be included in the meeting of the Sacred Heart Alumnae/i Association Presidents of Mexico. Their reports were informative and emotionally challenging. Their commitment to fostering Sacred Heart education while addressing the numerous socio-economic problems in Mexico are a lesson in courage for us all. We are particularly proud of the young alumnae and alumni who tearfully recounted their experiences of living with impoverished families and " feeling their pain". They had never known what it was like to have so little food and very little water!

What great missionaries and unsung heroes we have walking among us!

 

The spirit of the Sacred Heart is truly alive and well in Mexico!!!

 

My next official journey was to Rome in February 2003. Kathleen Dor kindly extended an invitation to me on behalf of the European alumnae/i, to address the conference of national presidents of the European countries, and the young alumnae and alumni who were meeting concurrently with them. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with Sr. Clare Pratt and the presidents of alumnae/i associations of thirteen countries and speak with them about their vision for our international organization. One of the most interesting subjects addressed was the evaluation of the Sydney Congress. You will find a copy of the "Evaluation Form" enclosed. Please distribute it to your Associations for suggestions, input, etc. This will be a tremendous help in planning our 2006 Congress. Please return the completed forms to me prior to November 1, 2003.

 

Perhaps the most important issue we discussed was the "Uganda Project". As you know, the national presidents voted unanimously at the "Presidents Meeting" in Sydney, to support the project in Uganda, as this was identified by Sr. Clare Pratt as having " top priority". Claudia Taylor-East gave an excellent report on the progress of the school which opened February 10th , 2003. Sr. Irene Cullen had told us there is a desperate need to build a convent in which the Sisters could live . Claudia proposed that each national association that could afford to and chose to contribute $1000.00 to assist the RSCJ in this endeavor be encouraged to do so. This is a proposal, not a mandate! We know that many of our associations have been contributing to numerous desperate causes, and we applaud them for their generosity! However, we, as leaders of AMASC, pledged to support this cause as our number one priority, and we feel certain that you agree that it is

time to honor this commitment in some way! Every contribution, in any amount, will be sincerely appreciated! The important thing is that each country participate at some level!!!

 

Please let us know if your associations have already sent donations to Sr. Cullen. If they have, we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. If they have not, perhaps they have been waiting for some direction as to how to proceed in this matter, as many of us were.

 

Sr. Cullen suggests that the following procedure be adapted concerning the collection of funds:

 

1) Local Associations would collect from their own constituents and bank.

2) Funds could then be moved to their national office, thus there would be no fees for currency conversion. In Euro countries, they could be held in one alumnae Office.

3) Periodically, Sr. Cullen would be informed of what is available and would apprise the Uganda leadership of our progress.

4) Uganda would request a transfer when the money is needed. Since ground cannot be broken until we have almost all the money needed, this could be a year or

so.

 

Sr. Cullen says that, " my knowing what has come in, will help me with Grant writing".

 

Sister requests that she be notified when any of our associations procure funds for Uganda. Arrangements will be made to transfer the donations. Please contact:

Sr. Irene Cullen, rscj

Uganda-Kenya Development Office

1653 Borana Street

San Diego, CA 92111

Ph: 858-268-3340

FAX: 858-874-3424

E-mail: Icullen@rscj.org

 

Please make certain to indicate that the contribution from your country is being made in the name of AMASC.

 

We are sincerely grateful to Claudia and Beatrice Raffoul who have been working very hard to move this project forward!

 

The meeting of the young alumnae and alumni (there were several young male participants), representing 24 schools, was energizing beyond description! Christine Lanners, coordinator of the meeting, is to be congratulated on the wonderful job that she did in bringing so many young people together to strengthen the bonds among our Sacred Heart graduates throughout Europe.

 

The young alums would like to produce an AMASC World Youth Bulletin to post on our WebPages. I am enclosing a copy of their proposal for your perusal, input and suggestions. We are very proud of Ana Drisaldi, Allesia Clemente and Rachel Radmilli for taking the initiative to pursue this most ambitious undertaking. Please encourage the young alumnae/i in your countries to participate in this very important project.

 

A very special highlight of the meeting in Europe was seeing the AMASC Archives in their new home. Maria Franca did a wonderful job of moving all of our precious records to the Trinita dei Monti. We are so grateful to her and to Jacqueline Klomp-Verhoeven and Fedi Rossi who will now maintain the archives. We would also like to express our appreciation to the RSCJ for sharing this wonderful space with us. We are enclosing a picture and important information concerning future additions.

 

Of course, visiting the original Mater Fresco and attending meetings at the Trinita were experiences we will cherish, always! Kathleen, Fedi, Claudia, and Mimma Arcudi, are to be congratulated and commended on a job well done!

 

I am deeply grateful to all of the members of our Sacred Heart family in Mexico and in Europe for making my stay in their countries so meaningful and memorable!

 

We are in the process of updating our WebPages. There are several new developments of which you may take note. Due to unforeseeable personal and professional commitments, Wendy Delery Hills felt that she could not give the time which must be allocated over a four year period to effectively chair the 2006 AMASC Congress. We are very grateful to Wendy for remaining an integral part of our Congress team.

 

We are delighted to announce that Martha McDermott Landrum, (ASH Rosary,'76) and Betty Nairne McDermott, (ASH Rosary,'45) have graciously agreed to co-chair the 2006 congress. Betty and Martha have extensive experience in event planning and we are very blessed to have them at the helm! Many committee chairmen and events are already in place in anticipation of the April, 2004 board meeting.

 

We have just received word that CASHA will host "International Night", which will truly be a highlight of the Congress. We are most grateful to Beatrice Raffoul for proposing this to her alumnae, and to Airlie Ogilvie, President of the Point Grey Alumnae, who enthusiastically volunteered to chair the event. We are very proud of our Canadians!!!

 

As you know, the Study Plan is posted on the WebPages. Please encourage your constituents to participate in this very important study. This program is a vital part of every AMASC congress as many of our Directional Statements are derived

from its conclusions. Shirley Miller,rscj is the author of the beautiful Study Plan Prayer.

 

We have enclosed a copy of the prayer and the Study Plan. Please contact Kathleen Simon, kes@studyplan.org for further information. We are most grateful to Kathleen and her committee for the many hours that they put into formulating the study and to Sr. Kathleen Hughes, U.S. Provincial, and her team for their collaborative efforts.

 

Our young alumnae/i in Cairo are very interested in AMASC. At their request, we are sending them our Constitution and By-Laws and are hoping that we will be welcoming them into our ranks in the near future.. Please pray that this will come to pass. I had the opportunity to visit with several of their alumnae in Rome, and feel that these dynamic young people would be a vital asset to our world association!

 

At this time, we would like to ask all of you to suggest items to be placed on the Agenda for the Board Meeting next year (Monday, April 19- Sunday, April 25, 2004). Please send your requests to me at your earliest convenience, especially if there is any research involved.

 

It is not too early to be thinking about the 2006 AMASC Congress. We encourage you to begin budgeting to send representatives from your Associations to what promises to be a spiritually, intellectually, and socially enriching experience. The alumnae and alumni throughout the United States are very enthusiastic and excited about being a part

of this challenging undertaking. We recently returned from the AASH National Conference in St. Louis, MO.; it was a magnificent and motivating experience! Our newly elected president of the AASH, Barbara Lopiccolo, is very attuned to and supportive of AMASC as is Nancy Agnew, our immediate past president. Both of these special ladies appreciate and value the importance of promoting our world association and are encouraging all our alumnae and alumni to actively participate in AMASC and in the XIII International Congress. Every association in the U.S. has been asked to elect or appoint an AMASC Representative to its board, if it has not already done so.

 

We have been negotiating with several hotels and are very close to making a final decision; this will involve signing contracts. We implore you to assist us by giving us a realistic estimate of the number of people in your associations (including others who might accompany them), whom you feel will most likely attend the 2006 congress. This will, of course, not be a commitment just a guideline for us. Please send us this information by November 2003. The meeting of the Board of Directors and National Presidents will be held Saturday, April 22. The Congress will be held Sunday, April 23, through Friday, April 28. As you know, we will be financially responsible for any unused rooms. On the other hand, we do want to make certain to book enough rooms to accommodate all of our participants. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation in this matter. We would appreciate our national presidents assuming the task of getting an approximation from their respective countries. (Please refer to the enclosed Evaluation Form).

 

As most of you know, we are delighted that the Heads of Schools throughout the world will be meeting concurrently with us in 2006.

 

Our AMASC Religious Councilor, Sr. Shirley Miller, Headmistress of The Rosary (ASH), is leaving New Orleans in July 2003. Sister will become the first Director of the Office of Mission Advancement for the U.S. Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Sister has been an outstanding Headmistress and our Rosary family will miss

her terribly. However, we are very happy about her new and challenging position. We are also delighted that Sr.Miller has chosen to remain a member of our AMASC President's Team! (Please see the Mission Advancement Appointment announcement enclosed).

 

Anne deBroglio continues to do an outstanding job as our Webmaster. We are adding a page for announcements of meetings and other news from all of our associations choosing to take advantage of this service. Please send such notices to: anne.debroglio@arts.usyd.edu.au. We need your input in order to effectively update our WebPages.

 

Claudia introduced us to a Website that has a lovely picture of Mater and a history of the original Fresco. It is www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2002Oct./Materadmirabi.htm

 

Claudia also sent the following message: "…we shall be celebrating our centenary this year. The official celebration will be held Oct.1st with the inauguration of the new school Centenary Project- it is actually the date the Sisters arrived in Malta. We shall be organizing a visit to Malta for any of you who would like to share in our celebrations and of course take the opportunity to visit our beautiful Island". We all appreciate this lovely invitation and wish to extend congratulations to our alumnae in Malta. Please contact Claudia for further information.

 

Thank you for reviewing all of the enclosures in this letter. Please continue to keep in touch as we enjoy hearing from you and communication is so important! Again, I thank you for your continuing support. Please know how much we all appreciate and how well aware we are of all that you are doing. Sts. Madeleine Sophie andPhilippine must indeed be proud of their protégées!

 

I would like to conclude my message with the Opening Prayer for the Mass on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 27, 2003.

" Father, we rejoice in the gifts of love we have received from the heart of Jesus, Your Son. Open our hearts to share His life and continue to bless us with His love."

 

When we are united through the celebration of special liturgies throughout the world, let us join hands and hearts with the Religious of the Sacred Heart as they renew their sacred vows.

 

Love and prayers,

Olga