Women religious embark on Selma pilgrimage for upcoming Jubilee Day

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Jubilee days provide opportunity for prayer and reflection and are dedicated to a certain demographic in the Catholic Church. Declared with the 2025 Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope, one upcoming celebration commemorates consecrated life.

The Jubilee of Consecrated Life will be celebrated Oct. 8–9, and “includes all consecrated men and women from all forms of religious life are invited to this jubilee event: men and women religious, monks and contemplatives, members of secular institutes, members of the Ordo virginum, hermits and members of new institutes,” according to the official Jubilee 2025 website. In Rome, these days will be set aside for pilgrimage, dialogue and prayer among consecrated men and women.

In the Diocese of Covington, religious sisters in particular are planning a pilgrimage of their own — one that takes place between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.

In March 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma to march on the Alabama capital of Montgomery — led by figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. The demonstration hoped to ensure African Americans the right to vote and was successful in doing so.

“Selma has such a rich history of persistence and moving forward for what’s right,” said Divine Providence Sister Leslie Keener, one of the sisters working on planning the pilgrimage for all of the diocese’s women religious. “I think it’s important for us to go and bear witness to that,” she said.

“I think it’s important, as we think about hope, that this is not our first time with struggle as people, but there have been successes — and it’s hopeful to remember that,” said Sister Leslie. “For me, being a sister is a lot about accompaniment and service … at the heart of it is presence with people in the way that God is present to me in my own life.”

Sister Leslie said that she, and all women religious, would be “very grateful” for prayers, and uniting in prayer with them as they undertake this pilgrimage and celebrate their jubilee. She also invites people to connect with the sisters.

“We love the people we serve, and we love our friends and neighbors,” she said. “All of us are here in service to people, and so we love when people stay connected with us in whatever way they can.”