Early in the misty morning on August 14, the rain-slick streets of downtown Atlanta were filled with nearly 500 Catholic sisters speaking in hushed, determined voices.
They were on what they call a “Pilgrimage of Hope.”
From 7 to 8 a.m., approximately 470 women of faith (and their supporters) prayed aloud along a 1.2-mile route, as 75 others joined them virtually.
Leaders guided readings, music, and periods of intentional silence. They paused at three locations, each of which was dedicated to one of the three issues they were in the streets to confront: Forced migration, climate change, and racism.
“As we filled the streets of downtown Atlanta with readings, song, and silent contemplative prayer, we prayed that this communal effort would contribute in some way to the efforts being made globally to create a better world for all,” a Facebook post by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious shared.
The hundreds of sisters were in town for an annual conference of the association of leaders of American Catholic women’s congregations. This year’s gathering has brought in hundreds of women religious leaders from 18 countries.
The Pilgrimage of Hope kicked off their time together. This gathering is even more impactful for the attendees, as Pope Francis declared 2025 a Holy Year or Jubilee, prior to his death. In observance, Catholics set aside this time for prayer, reconciliation, and pilgrimage.
“This is an initiative that is happening throughout the United States as a means of welcoming a variety of people to engage in this year of Jubilee,” Bridget Bearss, co-chair of the pilgrimage and LCWR’s associate director for transformative justice, told Religion News.
At the first stop, where the sisters prayed for the environment, they echoed the sentiments of the late Pope Francis’ “Laudato si,” an environmental justice manifesto that posits climate activism to be a calling from God.
“We are committed to deeply investing ourselves in being pilgrims on the journey on behalf of ‘Laudato si’,’ the themes of ‘Laudato si,’” Bearss added.
In another stop on the pilgrimage, the group prayed for immigrant communities.
Sister Susan Francois of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in New York shared a brief glimpse into this moment in a TikTok video.
In her caption, she described the scene: “Hundreds of Catholic sisters in public witness in the streets of Downtown Atlanta praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe for our migrant brothers and sisters.”
Francois said the walk felt particularly personal, per Religion News.
In the first six months of Donald Trump’s second presidency, as his administration has rapidly ramped up immigration enforcement, she and some of her other sisters have been gathering at an immigration detention center in nearby Newark, New Jersey to stand with families trying to reconnect with their loved ones.
“I met a 7-year-old girl last Saturday who was trying to visit her dad before he was deported to Ecuador,” Francois told Religion News.
“Their faces were in front of me, and I was just holding them especially in prayer and sending them love.”
The third stop in which the sisters paused and prayed was centered around racism.
“It was a very powerful experience,” Annmarie Sanders, the communication director of the LCWR, said.
“There’s lots of great poverty here in downtown Atlanta, so it felt like a wonderful opportunity for us to make public our commitment to work, particularly for those three issues, forced migration, climate change and racial equality.”
Members of other global covenants shared their photos and sentiments after the event, too.
“We pray for peaceful solutions to the problems in this country and this world,” the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville shared on social media.
While the gathering did not materially solve any of the problems the sisters marched for, they brought a large group of caring people to one place, for a spiritual reckoning not always seen in Christian circles.
“I think the belief that the power of our prayer could really make a difference,” Sanders added.
“To just see nearly 500 people coming together in that sense of faith to put more positive energy into the atmosphere — will hopefully influence the course of the world to create a more peaceful place.”
A full video of the event was streamed by the Catholic Climate Covenant and is still available to watch online.
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Header image courtesy of Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville/Facebook
