Benedictine Sisters of Chicago march to reclaim their neighborhood

My daughter Mary Grace spent four years walking from Howard Street two blocks south on Ridge Avenue to St. Scholastica Academy, her high school. Although nearby areas in south Evanston and further east in Rogers Park certainly had some problems with crime, we never had any concerns with the short walk in the area dominated by the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago and the all girls Catholic high school founded and run by that order.

That peaceful neighborhood was rocked two weeks ago when 18-year-old Antonio Johnson, of Evanston, was chased down, shot and killed in front of the St. Scholastica monastery.

The sisters, who have been in Rogers Park since 1906, and socially active on a number of issues, conducted a silent prayer walk and a blessing with holy water at the site of the shooting. They were joined by community members on Wednesday to retrace Johnson’s final steps.

“We reclaim this space for non-violence,” said Sister Benita Coffey. “We’re still women of peace, living community life here and wanting desperately for this neighborhood to become a place of peace.”

Read the rest of the article on nbcchicago.com.