SAMUELS: The Sisters in the Spirit of Houston forms closer relationships with Christ

Pictured with Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, The Sisters in the Spirit of Houston is a non-profit organization that serves in parish ministries and throughout the Archdiocese in various departments and offices. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Catholics of African Descent)

If you have had the pleasure of attending one of the many beautiful Archdiocesan Masses and or events at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and come across a group of African American women elegantly dressed in black adorned with red scarves, serving as greeters for an event, then you have come across members of the Sisters in the Spirit of Houston. The 23-year-old organization began with 54 women in July 2001 as a prayer and service ministry of the Office of African American Ministries in the diocese.

The Sisters in the Spirit of Houston was founded in 2001 at the National Gathering of Black Catholic Women, hosted by the National Black Sisters Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the invitation of the conference, the office of African American ministries at the time, headed by the late Monsignor Patrick Wells, invited African American women throughout the parishes of the diocese to make a presence to participate in the conference. As a result of the conference, the women who attended officially called themselves “Sisters in the Spirit.”

The Sisters in the Spirit of Houston Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization registered in the State of Texas. Current membership includes 204 women from 26 parishes across the Archdiocese. Members serve in ministry in their parishes and throughout the Archdiocese in various departments and offices, including the Office of Worship, the Office of Aging, and the Office of the Vicar for Catholics of African Descent.

Sisters in the Spirit of Houston supports organizations, including Sisters of the Holy Family of New Orleans, Catholic Charities, Angels Surviving Cancer, Galveston-Houston Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and others.

Current president, Carolyne Mbong, said that the goals of the Sisters in the Spirit of Houston include providing opportunities for members to form closer relationships with Christ through retreats, prayer partnerships and independent studies, and expanding service in the Archdiocese through community outreach projects.

One of the ongoing principal projects of the organization is to advance the cause for the canonization of Mother Henriette DeLille.

In 1988, the cause for the canonization of Henriette DeLille, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family, was opened, and in 2010, Mother DeLille was honored with the title Venerable Henriette DeLille. The Sisters In the Spirit of Houston has taken it upon itself to educate and share the story of Mother Henriette DeLille and the Sisters of the Holy Family and praying on behalf of Mother DeLille’s canonization.

The Sisters In the Spirit of Houston continue to prayerfully and financially support the Sisters of the Holy Family.

To learn more about the Sisters in the Spirit of Houston, visit the website at www.sistersinthespiritofhouston.org, and listen to “In His Light Podcast with Father Reginald Samuels” on Spotify or Apple podcast. 

Father Reginald Samuels is the vicar of Catholics of African Descent and pastor of St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Deer Park.