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WASHINGTON (October 20, 2000) --Religious Sister of Mercy Lourdes Sheehan has been appointed an associate general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/U.S. Catholic Conference.
The announcement was made today by Monsignor William P. Fay, the Conference's General Secretary-elect.
Sister Sheehan is currently the Secretary of Education for the Conference.
In commenting on the appointment, Monsignor Fay said that Sister Sheehan "has the gifts of education, experience and love of the Church that will well serve the Bishops in this position.
"She is well known and respected within the Conference," he added.
Sister Sheehan is a native of Georgia. She served previously as director of secondary education, superintendent of schools, and director of Christian formation for the Diocese of Richmond.
After a previous term as the Conference's Secretary of Education, Sister Sheehan served as the director of the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. She returned to the Conference in 1999.
Sister Sheehan has also served as executive director of the Department of Chief Administrators of the Catholic Education of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and of the National Association of Boards of Catholic Education.
Within her religious community, Sister Sheehan has served as the Provincial and also a Councilor for her Sisters of Mercy Provincialate.
Sister Sheehan hold a master's degree in colonial history from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in educational administration from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. She is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to Catholic Education from the NCEA and the Catholic School Executive Leadership Award from Fordham University, New York.
Galveston-Houston Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, the Conference president, said that he welcomed Sister Sheehan's appointment.
Bishop Fiorenza said that Sister Sheehan "has had a distinguished career in service to Catholic Education. The Bishops greatly appreciate her leadership in this field and are grateful to her for her willingness to take on the responsibilities of an associate general secretary."
Sister Sheehan will assume the new position on January 15, 2001. She will serve together with two other associate general secretaries, Mr. Bruce Egnew and Monsignor David Malloy.