Standing with the Pope

Lisa Martin


Sisters are placing 22 of these billboards in Iowa prior to the caucus

CHM sisters do what we all should do to effect change. They stand up for what they believe in; they call their legislators; they attend peaceful gatherings; they sign petitions; they make healthy lifestyle changes; they pray. Now they are at it again--this time putting up billboards in collaboration with a bunch of other nuns!

As the CHM communications director I am only too happy to help in this latest endeavor: Catholic sisters are calling for care of the environment through:

  • supporting legislation to reduce carbon emissions
  • developing clean energy policies
  • providing financial assistance to developing countries

To promote their point, sisters are placing 22 billboards in Iowa in January in advance of the caucuses to make sure delegates, potential presidential candidates, and voters remember this critical issue. Billboards will also be placed in Illinios and Wisconsin.The sisters who collaborated on the the project  include 12 communities from the upper Mississippi River Valley region.

CHMs will take part in two ecumenical Care of Earth prayer services in Iowa at these billboard locations:

  • Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 12:30 pm at 410 East 4th Street in Davenport
  • Sunday, January 31 at 12 noon at 1808 42nd Street 
    • (intersection of Beaver Ave. and Franklin in Des Moines)
CHM Sister Snyder not only stands with
Pope Francis, she high fives him!
The billboard plan was initiated by Catholic Sisters for a Healthy Earth Committee (CSHE).  The committee explained, “In his recent encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis urgently calls us to take action to care for our common home. ‘Everything is related,’ he writes, ‘and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each creature and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river, and mother earth.’”
The Sisters’ “Care for our Common Home” message was first shared through ads placed in USA Today and local diocesan newspapers during Pope Francis’ visit to the United States in September.