This year’s Ministry Appeal celebrates the lives and ministries of Sisters Barbara O’Neill and Annette St-Amour.
Some ministries span continents. Others unfold in the quiet, sacred rhythm of daily prayer. Yet whether walking alongside catechists in rural South Africa, carefully preparing the liturgy that gathers a community before God or accompanying a colleague taking their first steps into the Catholic Church, the heart of the mission remains the same: to meet people where they are and walk with them toward God.
For Sister Barbara, that journey has been shaped by a lifelong love of liturgy and its quiet power to weave Scripture, prayer and community into something transformative. Read more about Barbara below. For Sister Annette, it has carried her across oceans and decades, forming faith in others wherever she was called. Their stories, so different in setting yet so alike in spirit, are a testament to that enduring mission and to the generous support that makes it possible. Read her ministry reflection below.
Your support sustains the IHM Sisters as they minister to those most in need — serving communities across ten states, Puerto Rico and Mexico, and partnering with organizations and religious orders to bring hope wherever we are called.
Read the full Ministry Appeal here.
Ministry stories and reflections
Sister Barbara studied theology and education at Immaculata University and later earned a master’s degree in liturgical theology from La Salle University. She also completed postgraduate studies in liturgical theology at Boston College. Over the course of 40 years, she has ministered as a teacher, campus minister and director of religious education in Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania; Camden and Trenton, New Jersey; Kansas City, Missouri; and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In every role, she found herself drawn back to the liturgy, to the way it weaves together Scripture, prayer and community. She fell in love with its depth and beauty and with its quiet power to transform hearts.
Her current ministry is at the IHM Motherhouse, where she serves as director of liturgy. Sister Barbara prepares celebrations for sisters, residents and visitors. She shares, “I am deeply aware of the serious responsibility that comes with shaping the prayer of the assembly.” In the truest sense, she seeks to facilitate a ritual encounter in word and symbol for all who gather. The approach to liturgy is one of prayer, attention to the season, the week of the year, the scriptures and all that is happening in the world. For Sister Barbara, this is an expression of hospitality, offering our best to God and creating a space where all feel welcomed into deeper prayer and a meaningful experience.
Sister Annette was among four IHM Sisters who opened a mission in Howick, South Africa. There, she worked alongside Zulu catechists — local lay leaders trained to teach and share the faith through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Together, they served in townships and rural mission stations, accompanying children and adults across Zulu communities on their journey of faith.
She later ministered in South Sudan, where she helped form diocesan pastoral teams and full-time catechists, while also leading trauma-healing work, empowering women and nurturing the growth of small Christian communities. When Sister Annette returned to the Motherhouse in 2023, her ministry of accompaniment continued in a quiet and unexpected way. Learning that an IHM staff member felt a growing desire to deepen her faith, Sister Annette began walking with her as she prepared to enter the Catholic Church through RCIA.
To date, she has mentored two additional staff members who have entered the Church. She continues to gather with them monthly for prayer, faith sharing and reflection as they each grow in their relationship with God. Sister Annette also accompanies men and women of varying ages, backgrounds and faith traditions who are discerning a non-vowed commitment as IHM Associates, offering the steady, patient presence that has always defined her ministry.
Some have served in ministries that were adequately funded and provided regular compensation. Many have ministered in faith—working with the poor, rescuing orphans living in dangerous conditions and teaching in underserved communities around the world while living alongside those they served.
In all these ministries and works, IHMs have been accompanied by angels of mercy who have supported them through prayer, served alongside them in ministry and contributed funds to these works of faith and care. Today, they continue to minister in these same ways, carrying forward the mission of service and compassion wherever the need is greatest. How grateful we must be! We trust that God blesses all who have contributed to the ongoing works of the Holy Spirit.
