bringing sisters together

Supporting collaboration across countries

Who We Are

Dominican Sisters Europe (DSE) is a branch of the Dominican Sisters International (DSI) movement. DSI was founded in May 1995 to faciliate worldwide collaborations among the Dominican sisters of apostolic life in their preaching mission. At the ninth triennial general assembly of DSI in 2019, the Dominican Sisters International Confederation (DSIC) was established as a natural progression of DSI.

The international network is grouped geographically by continents: Europe, Africa, Asia & the Pacific, North & South America and the Caribbean. Each group is further organised by region. The Dominican sisters in Europe are organised into seven regional groups by language and include 79 congregations in 29 countries and cover more than 20 languages.

DSE Activities

01.

— YSOP

Young Sisters of the Order of Preachers (YSOP) is a yearly meeting that brings together young dominican sisters across Europe. Young dominican sisters includes novices and sisters with less than 20 years of professed life. Translations for different languages will be provided as necessary.

02.

— Dominican pilgrimage

An annual pilgrimage is usually planned along the footsteps of St. Dominic in different European countries. The pilgrimage is open for sisters of all age group.

03.

— Formation workshop for sisters of age (50+)

This is a new event planned by DSE for sisters aged 50 and over. The meetings are planned around permanent formation themes with the aim of building and fostering friendship among the sisters.

04.

— Meeting for formators

DSE organises biennial workshops for formators focusing on specific aspects of formation. Invited speakers are experts on the theme in focus and the workshops are aimed at enriching the formators with new insights and provide them with an opportunity to share their experiences and exchange ideas for permanent and on-going formation.

05.

— Summer language courses

Language is the most challenging barrier for communication among the European countries. Sisters in Ireland and Spain have been willing to receive sisters from other countries to stay with them for a short period usually during the summer holidays and give them an introductory course in English/Spanish.

06.

— NGO presence at the UN

In collaboration with the international promoter for justice and peace at DSIC, representatives are sent from the different continental zones to participate at the annual UN commission on the status of women. This provides an opportunity for the sisters working at the grassroots level towards improving the dignity of women and girls, to experience the workings of the UN on this topic.