I'm from Louisiana—born, bred and raised Cajun.  Since I joined the convent in 1977, I've ventured far from the bayous and seen quite a bit of the world.  And even though I speak "y'all", which doesn't always translate perfectly, there are other things that do, most powerfully Take, for instance, blessings.  I remember working with Sr. Irene for two days straight in the bowels of a New York skyscraper taking apart and extracting about 60 units of metal shelving that were donated to the convent....

 Wish us a happy birth-year. This June the Daughters of St. Paul will celebrate a hundred years of participating in the mission of the Church, becoming the Good News of Jesus, and communicating him through the media within the world’s cultures. Our story would not be the same without one woman who was indispensable to its first fifty years—Thecla Merlo, well on her way now to being declared “Blessed.” Our centenary appropriately begins this year and ends next year with her anniversary—Febru...