Sister Grace Marie Horan, FSE on the day of her final vows in 2017.

ROME (04-20-2022) – Sister Grace Marie Horan, FSE, of the FSE Rome center, joyfully received the announcement that she successfully passed her oral defense of her doctoral treatise and is granted the degree of Doctor of Ministry from The Catholic University of America. The defense was held via teleconference  with several Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist around the world attending.

Sister Grace Marie has been an official of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since February 2021. Prior to living in Rome, she was missioned to the FSE center in Bridal Veil, Oregon. Her doctoral treatise, Incorporating Dr. Montessori’s Catholic Vision within a Religiously Diverse Catholic School, was based on a project in ministry, a faith formation program for staff at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School in Portland. The program sought to demonstrate the deep connection between Montessori pedagogy and the Catholic faith, and how this connection can inform a school’s Catholic identity in a context of dialogue with non-Catholics.

Explaining the significance of her work, Sister Grace Marie commented, “The topic is significant for Catholic schools because it addresses a burning issue of re-vitalizing Catholic identity as our society becomes more plural and less religious. Our society needs Catholic schools to keep alive our vision of the transcendent dimension of human nature, and the love that God shares with us through his Son Jesus Christ, while engaging in relationships of dialogue and esteem with those of other or no religious traditions. Many of the project’s themes are also found in the recent document from the Vatican, ‘The Identity of a Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue.'”

Sister Grace Marie earned a BA degree in English from University of Dallas and an MA degree in systematic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. She professed perpetual vows as a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist in 2017.

Congratulations, Sister Grace Marie!