Sister Charlene Herinckx, who is serving a second five-year stint as superior general of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, is a fan of the histories of religious communities.
“Historically, women religious have been the ones who take the church out from the centers to serve those at the edges — in hospitals and through social work, for instance. We can be proud of serving those in need.”
Women’s leadership, almost always a team effort, can at times be forgotten in the history of the Archdiocese of Portland and even more forgotten in the wider history of the state. But women religious as well as lay Catholic women have been key in building much of what the church and state take pride in.