March 9, 2026 | This dialogue — just one day after International Women’s Day — highlighted the remarkable work Catholic women are doing around the world to promote the common good, as well as the opportunities ahead to continue to advance women’s leadership in the Church. Women lead major social service organizations, hospital systems, and educational institutions. They have leading roles in dioceses large and small, and in countless parishes and organizations across the United States. They are scholars, business leaders, policymakers, legislators, journalists, activists, and advocates for the principles of Catholic social teaching. Yet as the Church has recently acknowledged, women still “encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation, and place in all the various areas of the Church’s life.” This dialogue brought together Catholic women leaders to discuss how the Church can better acknowledge the richness of women’s current and future contributions to advance the common good.

In this episode, Sisters Erin McDonald and Colleen Gibson interview Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, Executive Director and cofounder of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL). They talk about the importance of relationships in community organizing, that both action and contemplation are important for social justice work, and how CSPL brought a faithful response to those being detained by ICE in Chicago. Listen to the episode today!

March 9, 2026 | This dialogue — just one day after International Women’s Day — highlighted the remarkable work Catholic women are doing around the world to promote the common good, as well as the opportunities ahead to continue to advance women’s leadership in the Church. Women lead major social service organizations, hospital systems, and educational institutions. They have leading roles in dioceses large and small, and in countless parishes and organizations across the United States. They are scholars, business leaders, policymakers, legislators, journalists, activists, and advocates for the principles of Catholic social teaching. Yet as the Church has recently acknowledged, women still “encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation, and place in all the various areas of the Church’s life.” This dialogue brought together Catholic women leaders to discuss how the Church can better acknowledge the richness of women’s current and future contributions to advance the common good.

“This is a day that speaks to those who live in the shadows,” Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, told more than 3,500 faithful at a Mass attended by members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership. Some 2,000 sat and stood in the courtyard outside Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, with 1,500 more inside the Sanctuary on Wednesday evening.

On March 18, 2026, CSPL was allowed into Broadview Detention Center to hold a Ash Wednesday liturgy with those detained inside. At 3 pm, we arrived with a small delegation of priests and sisters, who entered the center to offer Ashes to both detainees and guards.

On March 18, 2026, CSPL was allowed into Broadview Detention Center to hold a Ash Wednesday liturgy with those detained inside. At 3 pm, we arrived with a small delegation of priests and sisters, who entered the center to offer Ashes to both detainees and guards.

That evening, more than 3,500 worshipers joined a Mass and Procession outside Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. There Cardinal Blase Cupich said, “This is a day that speaks to those who live in the shadows. Our immigrant friends know the fear of the knock at the door or the traffic stop. God does not need papers to know where you are or who you are—when you cry alone, he sees you.”

Two priests, nun offered 4 detainees ashes and Communion Wednesday. Cardinal Cupich: ‘God does not need papers to know where you are or who you are—when you cry alone, He sees you.’

Faith leaders have received permission to enter the Broadview ICE facility, access granted from the Department of Homeland Security to honor Judge Gettleman’s order.

A federal judge ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to allow religious leaders into a detention facility in the Chicago suburbs for Ash Wednesday next week and enable them to offer communion going forward. 

Following a judicial injunction issued Thursday requiring the Department of Homeland Security to permit clergy access to the Broadview ICE facility, the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) and the Scalabrinian Missionaries will hold a large outdoor Ash Wednesday Mass and peaceful procession in Melrose Park to begin the season of Lent. This will not be a procession to Broadview. 

The Mass and procession at Our Lady of Mount Carmel will serve as a powerful public moment of prayer and hope. Thousands are expected to gather as a public expression of prayer and solidarity with immigrant families.

This letter is the fourth sent since October 2025 by CSPL to DHS and ICE officials requesting access to provide pastoral care to immigrants being detained in Broadview Detention Center.