A woman religious who leads a national group supporting retired religious, and a Washington parish priest who is a noted evangelist and speaker, will be honored at the 2024 Spirit of Father Judge Award Reception on April 16 at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C.
The event – which celebrates the legacy of Father Thomas A. Judge, C.M., the founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity – will support Trinity Missions’ outreach in education, women’s empowerment, mission medical clinics, housing and fostering the faith across communities in need.
Trinity Missions, the public face of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, is dedicated to serving the spiritual, educational and physical needs of the marginalized and forgotten in society. Through its 43 missions in seven countries, Trinity Missions continues the mission of the order’s founder, Father Thomas Judge, in nurturing the Catholic faith and serving those in need.
The reception celebrates honorees who exemplify the values of Trinity Missions. Sister Kathleen Lunsmann, a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who has served as president of SOAR! (Support Our Aging Religious) since 2010, will receive the Spirit of Father Judge Award.
A press release announcing the upcoming award reception noted that “Sister Kathleen embodies Father Thomas A. Judge’s ethos, ‘Be good. Do good. Be a power for good,’ through her diligent efforts to ensure the dignity and care of elderly religious.”
Also at the reception, Msgr. Raymond East, the pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Washington, will receive the James J. Norris Award, named for a noted lay Catholic who was a friend of Father Judge and helped manage finances for the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity so their outreach could continue during the Great Depression. Later Norris was a key administrator for Catholic Relief Services after World War II and championed the cause of migrants and refugees and the poor around the world, including when he served as a lay auditor during the Second Vatican Council. After Norris died 1976, Mother Teresa remembered him as “the friend of the poor.”
During his more than four decades as a priest of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Msgr. East also served as the archdiocese’s vicar for evangelization and as the director of its Office of Black Catholics. He is known for his dynamic preaching, which emphasizes faithfulness, the joy of daily encounters with Jesus and the importance of the Eucharist for the Catholic community.
The Honorable Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, will serve as the master of ceremonies at the award reception.
In the greater Washington, D.C. area, Trinity Missions recently opted to lease a large building owned by the community to serve the mental health needs of the many migrants and Spanish speakers in the metro area. The Missionary Servants also offer priests and a brother who provide outreach to migrant families. Charitable funds for basic needs such as rent, food, and medical care are distributed to those who are vulnerable and in need, and the order’s priests offer spiritual care and counseling to them.
For more information on the Spirit of Father Judge Award Reception or to RSVP, contact rsvp@trinitymissions.org or call 1-866-809-0815. The website for the event is https://trinitymissions.org/spirit/.
