Sister Rejane Cytacki, one of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth’s advocates for environmental stewardship, has contributed a chapter to the new book “Green Saints for a Green Generation,” published by Orbis Books. The book presents profiles of saints, Canonical and everyday people, who have been examples of leaders and thinkers on the spiritual call to care for the planet. In her chapter, Sister Rejane profiles the late Sister Paula Gonzalez, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati.
Sister Rejane first learned about Sister Paula while teaching a fifth-grade class about Catholic Social Justice Teaching. A sidebar in the textbook described how Sister Paula turned a chicken barn into a well-insulated, passive solar home for her and another Sister to live in. Sister Rejane said, “Wow! Anyone who can do that…I want to meet her!”
Fast-forward a few years, and the two met while Sister Rejane was on a retreat at the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Sister Rejane toured “Casa del Sol,” the chicken barn turned house, during their meeting. She also toured EarthConnection, a solar and geothermal-powered education center Sister Paula had created from a former four-car garage.
“Sister Paula was all about creating well-insulated buildings,” Sister Rejane said of the two buildings. Sister Paula spent a lot of time educating people about how to effectively preserve energy through the insulating qualities of one’s home.
“She was spunky and encouraging,” Sister Rejane continued, “When I told her I was working on my earth-literacy thesis with gardens for schools, she was so supportive.”
Sister Rejane credits Sister Paula Gonzalez as one of the major teachers of ecology for women religious in the 1980s and 1990s. “I’ve talked to so many Sisters who know of Sister Paula because she came to their mother houses and taught us about ecology,” including the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Sister Rejane said.
The book, “Green Saints for a Green Generation,” is the brainchild of Sister Libby Osgood, CND, who recruited Sister Rejane because of her work for the Dominican Sisters of Racine’s Eco-justice Center.
The book will be discussed at a virtual book salon on Zoom will be on December 12 at 6 p.m. Central Time. People may register for the event at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4ElO17hYRmuEQ99VvLSB5A
