CHA's President and Chief Executive Officer Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, was honored recently with leadership awards from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Sisters of Divine Providence — Marie de la Roche Province.
Sr. Carol accepted LCWR's top honor, its Outstanding Leadership Award, at the organization's annual assembly, which took place in August in Garden Grove, Calif. That annual honor goes to a leader who has made significant contributions, on a national or international level, to the ministry and who has shown faithfulness to Gospel values. In bestowing the award on Sr. Carol, the LCWR cited her efforts to advocate for the poor and vulnerable, including through her support of health care reform.
Sr. Carol told the LCWR assembly that she is grateful for the support of that organization; of her congregation, the Daughters of Charity; and of her CHA colleagues. She said it is in difficult times that one cherishes the solidarity of shared conviction.
During a September presentation, the Sisters of Divine Providence bestowed their Ketteler Award for Social Justice on Sr. Carol. Named for Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, bishop of Mainz, Germany, the honor goes to people who demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice. Bishop Ketteler cofounded the Sisters of Divine Providence in 1851; he was known for promoting the rights of working-class people.
In granting the award to Sr. Carol, congregational leaders cited her courageous leadership and compassionate care of the poor as well as her commitment to reforming the health care system to better serve the vulnerable.