Gathering. Listening. Discerning. Deciding. Becoming.
It’s called Assembly and, indeed, it is.
The word itself says something about what will happen September 17–19 when nearly 300 IHM Sisters and Associates gather at the Motherhouse in Monroe. They will come from near and far, from different generations and experiences, bringing different perspectives and hopes. For three days, they will listen to one another, exchange ideas, discern together and make decisions about the future of their congregation.
Assembly is more than a meeting. It expresses who the IHM community understands itself to be: a people who believe the Spirit speaks through prayer, through one another, and through the collective wisdom of the community.
The congregation’s Constitutions call Participants to be “fully prepared, fully present and fully engaged” throughout the three-day proceedings. This year, 132 professed Sisters and 21 Associates are registered as Participants.
But participation takes different forms. Observers attend and participate as they are able, while Prayer Partners accompany the Assembly through prayer and spiritual support. In all, 153 Sisters and Associates are registered for the gathering.
Each role matters. Each person contributes to the larger whole.
A Newer way of being together
This Assembly also represents something newer in the life of the IHM congregation.
Changes approved in recent years have transformed the congregation’s governing structure. Rather than decisions being made by a single General Superior or by elected delegates representing the whole, the new model allows vowed Sisters to participate fully in decision-making. It is a significant shift—not simply in how decisions are made, but in how responsibility is shared. Assembly becomes the place where this new way of being church and community is lived out: through dialogue, listening, discernment and shared responsibility.
Sister Evie Craig sees the process as something the IHM community can model for a world that often struggles to listen across differences. “The IHMs are discerning the Spirit of God,” she said. “We seek to model the sustained dialogue and listening that are essential to the world.” For Associate Liz Lyons-Hudson, who is traveling from England, the opportunity to gather in person is itself meaningful. “I’m looking forward to meeting up with people in person instead of Zoom,” she said. “I’m interested in how we will move forward and looking towards how, as an associate, I can be part of our future.” Her words point to another important dimension of Assembly: the future belongs not only to those making decisions today, but to everyone who shares in the IHM mission.
The Mystery of what comes next
No one can know exactly what will emerge from three days of conversation, prayer and discernment. That is part of the point.
The congregation faces new challenges and opportunities as its responsibilities, ministries and membership evolve. The path forward will not be completely known when the Assembly begins. Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, President, describes it as both mystery and adventure:
The congregation faces new challenges and opportunities as its responsibilities, missions and membership evolve. Embracing a future unknown is a mystery and an adventure and the journey has begun.
Indeed, it has. And for three September days, the IHM community will gather to listen, discern, decide and move forward together.
Who are we? Why are we here? How do we live out our mission?
These are questions answered in The Rule, first written for the Sisters by IHM co-founder Father Louis Gillet in 1845. Written in French and based on his Redemptorist background, it outlined everything from first prayers in the morning to which patron saints watch over the congregation. Also called the Constitution, this document continues today to set the parameters and purpose for which the Sisters live. Big and small changes have been made over the years. In 1920, the Sisters received final approval to function as a Pontifical congregation, giving them greater freedom in determining their own future. Times of greatest change also came out of the Second Vatican Council, as well as the growth of the congregation itself and the expansion of its work in the 1960s. However, any changes to the Constitutions still must be approved by Rome. That’s why this year, with Rome’s approval letter just received, a new printing of the Constitutions, the first in 40 years, was given to each vowed Sister during Assembly in October 2025. It will continue to shape life and mission for years to come.
To trace the evolution of how the congregation has been governed for 180 years, click here to see each stage of leadership, starting with Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin in 1845 through today’s President, Sister Maxine Kollasch.