President's Letter, March 2025

My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ and our patrons, Saints Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, and Elizabeth Ann Seton, 2025 seems to be off to a fast start. I can’t believe it’s March already. I came across the following poem.

“March winds sweep fiercely across the land. They shout of change, they cleanse and shake, All rigid forms, new life shall wake. Now clouds are filled with precious drops that promise growth and fertile crops.”

I thought those couple lines were appropriate since Lent is also beginning in a few days. Lent should be a time of cleansing for us, a time of positive change so we can emerge stronger in our faith, more committed to model Jesus Christ in our daily lives and have a stronger desire to spread the good news to others to further the kingdom of God here on earth. So, PRAY, FAST, and GIVE more of your time and resources during these 40 days. You will be amazed at your personal growth at the end of the excursion.

Hager Grant Application for 2025 – Attached to my letter is the Hager Grant application for 2025. If you are planning to submit a request, please submit it to me via email (ktomas129@comcast.net) by March 1, 2025. The board will review the applications at our March 8th board meeting and, if approved, will submit to LCUSA by their deadline of March 15. Please email with any questions or concerns.

Investiture – The application and guidelines will be sent out after our next board meeting, which is this Saturday, February 8.

The Spiritual Society of the Unclaimed Dead – If you are interested in receiving a decedent’s name, please contact Janet Stahlman via our office, 412-456-6924.

Twinning Project – Please contact our office if you think your group can benefit from financial help for any project. All requests will be kept confidential.

Social media - Sherrie Dunlap Gallagher, social media chair, updates our Facebook page regularly. Please let her know of any activities you are currently doing that she can highlight. She can be contacted at sherrie.e.dunlap@gmail.com.

Junior Ladies of Charity (JLOC) – For more information on JLOC, please contact Mary Diaddigo Rex or Hailey Innocenzo Dube’ or call the LOC office at 412-456-6924.

Nursing Home Network – Please remember that if you have someone that is going to a nursing home outside of your area to contact Cindy Smith so that she can reach out to the local Ladies of Charity to visit.

501(C)(3) – Below is the updated distribution information for the quarterly submission of Treasurer Reports and Bank Statements. The December 2024, January & February 2025 information is due by 3/15/2025. Updated sales tax exemption forms are available by contacting Judy Weismann at weismann2@comcast.net.

DeMarillac Newsletter – It’s always great to see what other organizations are doing. Please remember to email any articles to Peggy Keene or mail them to our office at the address at the top of this letter. A picture is worth a thousand words so a picture or two of the events is welcome. 

March 2025 Rosary Intention - That our parish community will be zealous in carrying out good works that draw many into the light of God.

Prayer to the Vincentian Family

Lord Jesus, you who willed to become poor, gives us eyes and a heart directed to the poor. Help us to recognize you in them in their thirst, their hunger, their loneliness, their misfortune. Enkindle within our Vincentian Family unity, simplicity, humility, and the fire of love that burned in St. Vincent DePaul. Strengthen us so that faithful to the practice of these virtues, we may contemplate you and serve you in the person of the poor and may one day be united with you and them in your kingdom. Amen.

Mark your Calendars

• March 29, 2025 – Bi-Annual Officer’s Meeting, St. John Capistran Church
• May 18, 2025 – Investiture (2:30 PM Mass @ St. Paul Cathedral)
• August 16, 2025 – Annual Meeting at Sts. Martha & Mary Parish (St. Richard Church, Dickey Road)
• September 11-13, 2025 – National Assembly in Bethesda, Maryland

Miscellaneous Information

• Pittsburgh Website: locpittsburgh.org
• LCUSA Website: aic.ladiesofcharity.us
• Vincentian Family:  http://famvin.org
• FACEBOOK:  Ladies of Charity USA, Association of Ladies of Charity Diocese of Pittsburgh

If you have questions or suggestions, please call and leave a message with the LOC office at 412-456-6924.

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In the Vincentian Spirit,
Karen Tomaszewski, President
Association of the Ladies of Charity, Diocese of Pittsburgh