1976-1985

New Hope Manor is a residential substance abuse treatment program for women which was established in 1970 by Daniel Egan, SA, at Graymoor, the main Friary of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Garrison, NY. From 1976 to 2016, ten Dominican Sisters of Sparkill were part of the staff for varying lengths of time, […]

Emmaus House, a holistic residential treatment facility for women religious, opens under the leadership of Sister Patricia Walsh, offering a community of healing, welcome, and safety where Sisters are supported as they recuperate from serious problems and issues. With an extremely high rate of recovery upon completing the program, patients experience deep healing and gain

The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill becomes one of the founders of the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, a coalition of 27 religious communities providing loans for programs providing services to low-income families. Sister Margaret Murphy served as Finance Officer of the Fund from 2001-2016.

In 1983 St. Rita’s Center for Immigrant and Refugee Services opens its doors in the Bronx. The ministry has resettled over 17,000 families, adapting to different ethnic groups in newer waves of refugees and immigrants from Albania, Bosnia, Russia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. Founding director Sister Jean Marshall received the

Due to a lack of affordable senior citizen housing in the local area, the Sisters sought funding to build affordable senior housing as part of their mission of service to others. Under the leadership of the founding Executive Director, Sister Ursula Joyce, the Sisters opened the 200-apartment independent living senior housing community known as Thorpe

The first three Sparkill Dominican Associates are welcomed. Associates from the New York area, St. Louis, and Montana continue to enrich the life the congregation for more than 40 years.

In 1980, the Sisters publish the first of many corporate stances with the purpose of bringing attention to issues of peace and justice in light of the gospel mandate. This first corporate stance supports the call to halt the nuclear arms race. In 1986, congregationally owned properties in NY and MO are declared Nuclear Free

Three Sparkill Dominicans go to South America as part of the Maryknoll Associate Missionary program: Sister Maureen Robinson in Peru (1979), Sister Geraldine McGinn in Bolivia (1981), and Sister Barbara Paul in Peru (1989). Funding provided by the Sparkill Dominicans’ Special Projects Fund enabled Sister Maureen to establish a “Well-Baby Clinic” to provide pre-natal care,

Dominican Sisters begin ministry to seniors living in the Times Square area of New York City. Encore Community Services begins as a modest, church-based program at St. Malachy Church in 1977. With the leadership of Sisters Elizabeth Hasselt and Lillian MacNamara, Encore becomes a dynamic and multi-faceted organization serving thousands of poor, homebound, and homeless

The Centennial of Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary is marked with gatherings, prayers, and celebrations in Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.