40 Latin American religious sisters to receive degrees from Saint Mary's
May 1—This Saturday, May 4, as Saint Mary's University of Minnesota celebrates the graduation of the Class of 2024, it will also celebrate the conferring of degrees upon the first cohort of religious sisters who are a part of the university's Latin American Sisters Initiative.
The sisters have been enrolled in the university's Health and Human Services programs online, which has been made possible through the U.S.-Latin American Sisters Exchange Program, a partnership between Catholic Extension and Saint Mary's. As a part of the program, the sisters serve as missionaries in underserved Latino communities across the U.S. while also receiving degrees from Saint Mary's.
The 40 sisters, who will be present at Saint Mary's commencement, come from countries across Latin America and will receive bachelor's and master's degrees.
During their time in the program, the sisters have visited Minnesota and Saint Mary's Winona Campus multiple times.
The Most Rev. Bishop Robert Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and member of Saint Mary's Board of Trustees, will also be present for the commencement ceremonies.
Saturday's commencement celebrations will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a Baccalaureate Mass in Saint Thomas More Chapel. The commencement ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in the university gymnasium, followed by a reception in the plaza. More information about commencement and access to the ceremony's live stream can be found here: