Leadership

Meet our Council! The Area Leader and two Councilors generally serve for a three-year term. The current leadership team will serve from 2021-2024.

Rosamond Blanchet, RSHM

Sister Rosamond has dedicated her life to living the Gospel message with joy and faith. Early on, Sister Roz was a teacher and principal in Queens. She then held numerous leadership positions: in religious formation on the provincial, Institute and national levels, and as Eastern American Provincial Councilor and Provincial Superior. Sister Roz then was independent living coordinator with Good Shepherd Services for teenage girls. She also served as Associate Vicar for Religious for the Archdiocese of New York. Sister Rosamond was elected General Superior of the RSHM from 2013-2019. During her tenure, she strengthened RSHM’s mission in Africa, revitalized initial and ongoing formation programs, and initiated structural change as the Institute moves into the future. This is the second time she has served as Province/Area Leader.

Susan Gardella, RSHM

From work­ing with the home­less in Long Is­land to fam­ily courts in the Bronx, then co-founding the RSHM LIFE Center in 1995, Sister Susan has ded­i­cated her life to serv­ing those in need. Since its founding, the LIFE Center has grown in size and reputation and has become a vital part of the community. Sister Susan has been Executive Director of the RSHM LIFE Center since 2001, a position she retains while also serving as Area Councilor and Treasurer. Throughout her years of religious profession, her participation in a variety of international programs and her experience on Institute committees have afforded her a rich understanding of and commitment to RSHM internationality.

Catherine Vincie, RSHM, PhD

Sister Catherine was a professor of sacramental and liturgical theology at the Aquinas Institute of Theology, at Saint Louis University for 20 years, and has also given presentations at national conferences, to religious communities, and at diocesan conferences. She has written Worship and the New Cosmology: Liturgical and Theological Challenges; Celebrating Divine Mystery: A Primer in Liturgical Theology; The Role of Assembly in Christian Initiation as well as over fifty-five articles and book chapters about Christian initiation, Eucharist, and liturgy and justice. As a liturgical musician, Sister Catherine is also interested in the role of the arts in past and current liturgical celebrations. This is her third term as Area Councilor.