Conrad Hilton’s entrepreneurial spirit lives on through women religious

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

On Monday and Tuesday, Vice President of Strategy and Programs for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Marc Holley, visited the Dicastery for Communication, along with Sr Jane Wakahiu, Associate Vice President, Program Operations and Head of Catholic Sisters Program. 

Since 2012 alone, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has given over $281 million to over 750 congregations of women religious in over 160 countries.

In an interview with Vatican News, Mr Holley explained Conrad Hilton’s vision and specific ways the Conrad Hilton Foundation funds women religious and their ministries.

Conrad Hilton’s legacy

Marc explained that “Conrad Hilton was a very religious man and from his earliest days, he was very prayerful and he was affected by the contributions of the Catholic sisters. So, in his last will, he specified that the sisters were especially deserving of the foundation's benefactions.”

Women religious akin to Conrad Hilton’s spirit

“The sisters have such a broad reach,” Marc continued when asked why the foundation continues to tap into women religious in order to promote the broader vision Conrad N. Hilton left. “They are the ones who accompany people living in conditions of disadvantage around the world. They walk alongside them, they comfort them. But not only that, they helped them build sustainable lives, they train them in job skills training, they help them to establish a way of earning for themselves. And that was consistent with Mr Hilton's entrepreneurial spirit as well. So, I think the sisters bring together many aspects of what was important to Mr Hilton.”

Four investment areas

Marc explained that there are four different “strategy areas” that the Foundation invests in through women religious. The first area is the formal education and formation of sisters. “These investments are added with investments in sustainability of congregations and care for the elderly sisters,” Marc added.

The foundation also invests in those ministries performed by women religious directed to “children and families.” “A newer investment area,” Marc explained is “in stopping human trafficking and helping survivors to recover and build lives of prosperity.” Another strategy area “aims to elevate the voices of sisters as advocates for their communities.”

The final area Marc spoke about is in the area of “research and evaluation.” “When we know about the great contributions that sisters are making,” he said, “that information can be fed back into the programming that we do and into their work as well.”

Pentecost Project

The Dicastery for Communication is also a beneficiary of the Catholic Sisters Program of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The Dicastery has launched the Pentecost Project because of a grant the Dicastery has received. Women religious have been able to subscribe to L’Osservatore Romano free for one year (sending names and e-mail addresses to sisters@spc.va), some sisters will receive on-site training in communication in the Dicastery offices in Rome, others will be able to attend online classes in communication, and the Dicastery's #SistersProject features one article weekly in 10 languages describing the ministry women religious are engaged in.