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Archived - September 2014

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Sr. Anne Bryan Smollin, CSJ (1943-2014)

ALBANY, N.Y.—Sr. Anne Bryan Smollin, CSJ, 71, died Thursday (Sept. 25, 2014) at St. Peter's Hospital, Albany, NY. She had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for the past 53 years. Sr. Anne was the author of three Ave Maria Press books: Live, Laugh and Be Blessed (Sorin Books, 2006); God Knows You're Stressed (Sorin Books, 1999); and Tickle Your Soul (Sorin Books, 1999). She was born Julia Ann “Judy” Smollin on Jan. 18, 1943, the daughter of Irma (Dolezel) and Bryan J. Smollin in Troy, N.Y. Her mother and sister, Kay, survive. Raised in Watervliet, Sr. Anne graduated from Vincentian Institute, Albany. Sister Anne entered the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph on March 20, 1961, and professed final vows on Aug. 6, 1968. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from The College of Saint Rose, a master's degree in counseling from the State University of New York at Albany, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Walden University. Sr. Anne served as an elementary teacher and counselor, as well as a counseling psychologist at the Counseling Center in Albany. Sr. Anne also served as executive director for Counseling for Laity in Albany, a position she had held for the past 33 years. In addition, she hosted her own radio show for 18 years. The visitation will be from 2 p.m. to the 7:30 p.m. prayer service Monday (Sept. 29, 2014) at the St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham, N.Y. The funeral liturgy will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 30, 2014) at the Provincial House chapel. Interment will be in Our Lady Queen of Virgins Cemetery. Contributions in Sister Anne's memory may be made to the Development Office of the Sisters of Joseph, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY 12110. A story about Sr. Anne’s death is available on the Albany Times Union website.

Atchison Blue Awarded Second Place for Nonfiction Religion Book of the Year

DECATUR, Ga.—Ave Maria Press author Judith Valente took second place for nonfiction religion book of the year for Atchison Blue. The award was given out Sept. 20, 2014, at the Religion Newswriters Association’s 65th annual conference in Decatur, Georgia. Atchison Blue is a meditative spiritual memoir about Valente’s transformative pilgrimages to Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison, Kansas. Valente also received second place in television news magazine religion report of the year for a PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly report “Churches and Domestic Violence.”

Author Spotlight: Angela Alaimo O'Donnell (Mortal Blessings: A Sacramental Farewell)

Angela Alaimo O'Donnell shares stories from her new book, Mortal Blessings: A Sacramental Farewell, about how the mundane tasks of caregiving during her mother’s final days—bathing, feeding, taking her for a walk in her wheelchair—became rituals or ordinary sacraments that revealed traces of the divine. In this interview, O'Donnell shares insights into the "Catholic imagination," a sacramental worldview, her life as a poet, her inspirations as an artist growing up in the Catholic Church, and her very moving stories of caring for her mother towards the end of her life.