Dear Students, Faculty and Friends in the Trinity Community,

This past weekend, a Sister of Notre Dame who made her entire ministry living and working in the Amazon region in Brazil was murdered. Sr. Dorothy Stang was 74 years old and an outspoken advocate for the peoples living in the villages along the Amazon. She took a courageous stance for environmental justice against the massive logging trade in the Amazon region. News reports (attached) indicate a strong suspicion that she was assassinated because of her courage in speaking out against the loggers.

This year we have joined in celebration with the Sisters of Notre Dame on the occasion of their 200th Anniversary. Amid the celebration, this news reminds us of the deeply difficult, often dangerous, sometimes tragic nature of the work they have done and continue to do around the world. As we express our sympathy to them for the death of Sr. Dorothy Stang, let’s also renew our pledge of solidarity with them to stand firmly for justice, to pursue our work in their ministry of education with courage and conviction, always.

Although Sr. Dorothy Stang did not attend Trinity, her life’s work certainly reflects the kind of values and convictions we have received from the SNDs. We will have a special Liturgy at a date and time to be announced to remember her and to reflect on the continuing importance of such courage in our world today.

With condolences to the SNDs,

President Patricia A. McGuire ’74