Celebrating 70 years of service to the Archdiocese of Washington, members of the John Carroll Society gathered virtually on April 23 to mark the anniversary and hold their 34th annual awards ceremony.
In a recorded message, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory praised the society for its outreach. “Your willingness to step forward and work steadily to advance the faith formation of your members, to reach out to the poor and to provide pro bono legal and medical services along with your readiness for any needed special projects are but some of the reasons I am personally grateful for your ministry and enduring partnership,” the cardinal said.
Describing the honorees as true servant leaders, Cardinal Gregory said the members of the society and those honored illustrated a resourceful and dedicated approach to caring for one’s neighbors. “This past year has challenged all of us. For the most vulnerable in our community the year has brought even greater suffering and despair,” he said.
The cardinal noted that this year’s honorees “served tirelessly and selflessly in a variety of community service responses for those most in need during this continued pandemic.”
An organization of Catholic professionals founded in 1951, the John Carroll Society provides opportunities for faith enrichment and fellowship while in service to the Archdiocese of Washington. The group originally postponed the awards dinner last year and moved the annual event online in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sister Donna Markham, a member of the Adrian Dominican order, presented the keynote address. Since June of 2015, Sister Markham has served as the first female president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA – one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States that provides more than $4.4 billion in aid to over 13 million people struggling with poverty.
“God has led me to sacred places of the hearts and psyches of many, many, suffering people – these people have been my teachers,” said Sister Markham, a licensed and board- certified clinical psychologist.
In her address, the woman religious shared part of her journey with the online audience, praising her parents, her Catholic school education and a natural intellectual curiosity for leading her to mission service. The “early years have a profound influence on our future,” said the oldest daughter of five in an Irish Catholic family who resided in a suburb north of Chicago. She recalled two poignant stories involving her parents – attending daily Mass with her father before he caught the train to work and her mother’s own crisis in faith. Sister Markham said her mother turned to the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, closely studying the theologian’s proofs of God’s existence. “I guess I was destined to be a Dominican,” the woman religious said with a smile.
Sister Markham said although she did not know it at the time, she also experienced some unusual influences growing up -- including being taught to learn Scripture, memorizing Gospel passages at an early age and study of the social encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII. Additionally, she attended Sacred Heart Parish in Winnetka, Illinois led by Msgr. Reynold Hillenbrand, a pastor and a visionary leader of liturgical reform and social renewal. She noted that in addition to banning school uniforms because he did not want the students thinking they were superior, Msgr. Hillenbrand brought children from the neighboring Black community to her grade school. “So that we could meet one another, grow up together, learn how to be friends with each other and play with each other,” Sister Markham recalled.
“For me early seeds of love for the Eucharist, and Scripture, an admiration of Catholic social teaching, and an exposure to themes of racial equity became the ground of my Dominican vocation,” she said.
After completing high school with the Dominicans, Sister Markham left the country to attend the University of Toronto in Canada where she majored in Medieval philosophy, Latin and art history and encountered great scholars in philosophy as well the social unrest of the Vietnam War years. “All of this added momentum to my desire to somehow be able to make a difference for good in our world,” Sister Markham said. “I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I know I was clearly in my search for what was true and good and holy.”
She described her next step as a choice between entering the Dominicans or joining the Peace Corps and ultimately decided to try out religious life for a year. Sister Markham never left. “Dominican life has been a joy to me ever since those early years,” she added.
Before her role in Catholic Charities, Sister Markham held a variety of ministries including what she described as her most challenging – that of a first grade teacher. The former Prioress General of the Adrian Dominican Congregation, Sister Markham also earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and led the Southdown Institute in Ontario, Canada – treating clergy members and religious suffering from serious emotional illness. Before her position at Catholic Charities USA, Sister Markham served as president of the Behavioral Health Institute for Mercy Health System, Cincinnati.
Taught by theologians following Vatican II, trained as a Dominican to preach God’s word and guided by the mission of the Dominican Sisters to work together in love to bring about Jesus’ justice and peace, Sister Markham continues to live out her vocation. She said her prayer life and faith continue to be stretched and strengthened to this day. “The benefit of such an education resulted in an openness and deepening sense of tolerance and passion to meet the world with all of its challenges and wonders – in all of its contradictions and messiness,” Sister Markham said, adding that her formation helped her “to be fearless in walking in the midst of those who think differently from me – all of this prepared me for mission.”
The John Carroll Society selected Sister Markham to receive the John Carroll Medal “for the example you set of a mission driven life,” said Jeffrey Paravano, president and master of ceremonies for the evening. “Thank you for all that you do and the inspiration and leadership you provide.”
Following Sister Markham’s keynote address, the society also honored: Msgr. John Enzler, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington; Carol Bates, their immediate past president; and Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, a member of the faculty at The Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies and chaplain to the 2019 World Champion Washington Nationals. “Each of our awardees has followed the advice of Cardinal Wilton Gregory to share gifts, pursue justice and to reach out and be one with those on the margins,” said Paravano.
“It is fitting this evening that we honor the leaders of Catholic Charities on both the national and the Washington Archdiocesan level,” Paravano added in his introduction of Msgr. Enzler, former pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. In his brief message, the priest said the award was not so much for him but for the work of both Catholic Charities of the archdiocese and the John Carroll Society. “I am most proud that we’re doing such great work together for those in need. What a gift it is to serve the Lord through direct services,” Msgr. Enzler said. “John Carroll Society does it great and Catholic Charities does it great.”
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington is the Washington metropolitan area’s largest independent social services agency, and this past year Catholic Charities served nearly 193,000 people, including with large-scale food distributions to people in need throughout the area who had been impacted by the pandemic.
The society honored Carol Bates, its immediate past president, for her faithful service and witness in daily life. “Being president of the John Carroll Society was a great joy and honor in my life,” Bates said. “I so look forward to opportunities for fellowship in-person with all of you in the very near future.”
Since 2009 Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, a professor at Catholic University, served as chaplain to the Washington Nationals. Previously Msgr. Rossetti served as president and CEO of St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, an education and treatment center for clergy and religious that helps them deal with challenges like addictions, depression, stress and burnout. Parvano said the John Carroll Society is honoring the priest “for the care you have given to your fellow priests and religious, the wisdom and insight you have provided the Church, and the guidance you have provided in the community including the Washington Nationals team members.”
Thanking the society and donning a World Series championship ballcap, Msgr. Rossetti recalled the celebration following the victory on the field. “In 2019 with our World Series win was a special moment for the Washington Nationals and this entire city,” Msgr. Rossetti said.
He added that the area will always remember the entire season and how it unified the city. He praised the John Carroll Society for their work adding, “Thank you for helping and reaching out to our brothers and sisters in need.”
Each year members of the John Carroll Society raise money for the Agnes E. and Joseph P. Vaghi Scholarship for students attending Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. The scholarship is named in honor of the parents of Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi, the society’s chaplain. Despite the pandemic, members continued the tradition and raised money both last year and this year for students. This year’s scholarship winners include Harold Ashton, Malachi Baker, Alexa Desormeaux, Jude Muraya and Cyntia Pattison.
Additionally, each year students at Catholic high schools are invited to enter the Margaret Mary Missar/John Carroll Society High School essay contest for scholarship awards. A special video category was also added for the first time. The 2021 competition drew 138 submissions from students attending 10 Catholic schools reflecting on the theme, “Made in God’s Image: Pray and Work to End the Sin of Racism.” That is also the title of the Archdiocese of Washington’s anti-racism initiative launched by Cardinal Gregory in August 2020.
In his first-place essay, Sean Morgenstern from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville noted: “When individuals unite with others through the Church to call for justice and take action in helping the marginalized, racism ends. As Christians we are called to do this. This is the challenge of our lifetime that God has charged us to be part of the solution; let us accept His charge with humility and love.”
The winning essays include: first place, Sean Morgenstern, DeMatha High School; second place, Eden Friedman, Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington; third place, Alika D’Souza and Elena Hicks both from Academy of the Holy Cross; and honorable mention, Sydney Campbell, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney; and Cate Beggy and Mackenzie Hoefer both from the Academy of the Holy Cross.
The winning videos were: first place, Ijeoma Okere, Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington; second place, Emily Micklos, Academy of the Holy Cross; third place, Amara Alexander, Academy of the Holy Cross, and Zenobia Bey-Braye, Archbishop Carroll High School; and honorable mention, Alaina Wheeler and Gabrielle Davis both of Archbishop Carroll High School, and Mary Celeste, Academy of the Holy Cross.
The winning essays and video can be seen on the John Carroll Society website: www.johncarrollsociety.org.
