This was originally published by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province.
St. Joseph Educational Ministries (SJEM) welcomes Cara McMahon as the new interim executive director in the service of the CSJ mission and our educational institutions.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, are taking an innovative step, empowering the laity to continue the educational ministry that the sisters have established through the newly established St. Joseph Education Ministries. SJEM is a model of Catholic sponsorship called a ministerial public juridic person, a status that has been granted to SJEM by the Vatican that enables lay people to take on the sponsorship role traditionally held only by religious.
Although “ministerial public juridic person” sounds like an individual, it is a canonical term for a group of persons who together further the mission of the church. This group will assume the responsibility for ensuring that the Catholic identity and CSJ spirituality of its sponsored institutions is retained in perpetuity. SJEM will be the bridge between the schools and the church with its lay members taking on the sponsorship role alongside the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Cara has most recently served as the director of Mission Integration at CSJ-sponsored Academy of Our Lady Peace High School in San Diego. Prior to that, Cara worked at the SSJ-sponsored institution for higher education, Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, as the assistant to the president for Mission and Ministry. She pursued doctoral coursework in religious education at Fordham University, holds her M.A. in global development and social justice from St. John’s University, a secondary M.A. in pastoral care and counseling from the University of San Diego (USD), along with a B.A. in theological and religious studies and sociology, also from USD.
With more than 20 years of experience in Catholic education, Cara’s area of greatest interest and emphasis as an educator, minister, and servant leader has been the exploration of Catholic social teaching, seeking justice and dignity for all of God’s people. Her work has brought her across the nation as a speaker and facilitator, both faith-based and secularly, in the areas of the spirituality of inclusion, bridging cultural understanding, and practicing cultural humility. She has provided professional development opportunities for a variety of schools and nonprofits seeking to improve relationships within organizations and throughout all invested constituents.
Among the greatest educators in her history, Cara sees her most meaningful teachers as those from whom she has learned most from about being human, from Peru to El Salvador, the mountains of Chiapas, Ireland, Italy, San Diego and Philadelphia. The Sisters of St. Joseph mean a great deal to Cara. The CSJ legacy and charism has been the shaping force in her faithlife and spirituality. She seeks to embody their charism and spirituality of unifying love in every facet of her life for the betterment of our world.