Earlier this year, a program supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters initiative brought together sisters from across 79 congregations and multiple countries for two days of leadership formation and community building at the University of Monterrey, Mexico.
During the “Sisters Leadership Development Initiative Latin America Congress,” 110 Catholic sisters were presented with newly-earned certifications in social leadership. The graduates were joined by dozens of alumnae, reflecting a vibrant network of shared mission and service. With additional collaboration from the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the congress reaffirmed a shared mission: strengthening women’s religious life in Latin America through leadership, formation, and inter-congregational collaboration.
“The leadership entrusted to us should place us in the position of service, of those who know how to bow down to wash the feet of others.”
Sister Liliana Franco, ODN
Participants from 18 Mexican states, 17 Latin American countries, the US, and Angola took part in a year of weekly sessions covering Collective Human Development, Transformational Leadership, Project Evaluation, Institutional Development, Project Management, and Learning and Evaluation. The program included personal counseling, capacity-building, and digital engagement.
University of Monterrey’s Vice Rector for Integral Formation, Isabella Navarro Grueter, emphasized the program’s long-term impact during a speech to attendees, noting that the certification equips sisters with tools to strengthen ministries, teams, and social initiatives for years to come.
Keynote speaker Sister Liliana Franco, ODN, former president of the Latin American Confederation of Religious (CLAR), invited participants to cultivate a leadership style grounded in humility, compassion, and deep listening, advising: “The leadership entrusted to us should not place us on pedestals of power, because that fades, it ends, it is fleeting, it collapses. The leadership entrusted to us should place us in the position of service, of those who know how to bow down to wash the feet of others.”
Sister Ana Lisseth Chicas Ramírez from the Congregación Siervas de la Misericordia de Dios from El Salvador described her new perspective on leadership during her commencement speech: “I learned about the kind of leadership I need to embody, about the best way to serve, which must come from closeness, from listening, from accompaniment. A leadership that helps us create communities and transform realities from a place of hope…This certificate has confirmed for me that it is worth dreaming.”
As the event concluded, it was clear that the graduates’ collaboration, mutual support, and shared purpose reflected a growing global sisterhood committed to responding creatively and courageously to today’s social challenges. As members of a strengthened network of women religious, they are prepared to lead with integrity, serve with compassion and excellence, and continue building communities of hope throughout the world.
They have already passed the baton to the next cohort in the program. In March 2026, over 160 participants from Mexico and Latin America began their certification in social leadership with a module focused on Human and Collective Development.
