Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald honored with Spes Unica Award at May 2018 Evening of Hope

June 17, 2018

On Friday May 4, 2018, The Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University were delighted to honor Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ as the 2018 Spes Unica award. Sister Tesa is  Executive Director of Hour Children as well as a beloved friend and mentor to many of the Ladies at SJU. In her acceptance speech, she spoke of vocation, and listening to the call to action: attending meetings and well-wishing was not enough. As a life-long educator, Sr. Tesa’s work as a teacher evolved into acting as a foster parent and subsequently grew into her establishing Hour Children as a nonprofit organization to offer supportive services to other children of incarcerated mothers and the mothers themselves. She shared a short video about Hour Children and some of the women who have been touched by Hour Children’s services and love.

For more about about Hour Children, please see their website: https://hourchildren.org/


Graduation at SSND Educational Center

June 17, 2018


“We want to change our future!”  stated the student speaker for level three of the five ESL Levels moving up or forward at the SSND Educational Center in Woodhaven Queens.  Ninety women ages 21 and up have taken “the road less traveled,”  stated the Executive Director, Sr. Cathy Feeney, SSND.  It hard work to learn to read, write and speak English. Nearly 75 women gathered with faculty, board members and the Ladies of Charity.  They celebrated not only learning English as a second language or High School Equivalency classes but of learning to build self confidence and the importance of a community of support.  Congratulations to these wonderful women!

For more information about the good work that the SSND Educational Center does, please visit their website


2018 Evening of Hope: Spes Unica award to Honor Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ of Hour Children

April 3, 2018

On Friday May 4, 2018, The Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University will host its annual “An Evening of Hope” from 7:00-11:00 pm at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens. Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ will receive the St. Louise de Marillac Spes Unica Award and deliver the keynote address.
“An Evening of Hope” begins at 7pm and participation will support the charitable works of the Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University. Tickets cost $90.00. The evening will include a silent auction and raffles. To be a sponsor, purchase tickets and register for the event go to: https://conta.cc/2GLCQsd

Sr. Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ, the Executive Director of Hour Children, was involved in the founding of the organization when she became a foster parent in 1989 to eight children of incarcerated mothers at the convent where she lived. In 1996, when Hour Children became a 501 (c)(3) organization, Sister Tesa extended her outreach to offer supportive services to other children of incarcerated mothers and the mothers themselves. Prior to that, she was responsible for NYS curriculum oversight for Catholic elementary schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn, and both a school Principal and teacher at various Catholic elementary schools. In addition to being an educator, she is a Certified Foster Care Trainer. Sister Tesa has been named a CNN Hero (2012), a White House Champion of Change (2013), the 2014 winner of the Opus Prize, and in 2015 was awarded the Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice.The Spes Unica Award was established by the St. John’s University Ladies of Charity in 2014 to recognize a person who exemplifies the spirit of St. Louise de Marillac by radically improving the lives of others through service. St. Louise de Marillac was the spiritual moderator of St. Vincent dePaul’s lay women’s society, the Ladies of Charity. In 1633 she co-founded the religious order the Daughters of Charity with St. Vincent to address more completely the grinding poverty of 17th-century France. The newly formed Daughters of Charity set up soup kitchens, organized community hospitals, established schools and homes for orphaned children, offered job training, taught the young to read and write, and improved prison conditions.St. Louise died in 1660 and inscribed on the cross at her grave is the Latin phrase ”spes unica,” which means “one hope” or “only hope.” These words reflect St. Louise’s belief that service to humanity through systematic planning, sustainable programming and extensive collaboration is the “one hope” to effectively alleviate the burdens of people living in poverty. Four centuries later, that vision is reflected in the lives of people like Sr. Tesa and previous recipients; it is a vision celebrated by the Ladies of Charity, St. John’s University and the whole Vincentian Family.“An Evening of Hope” begins at 7pm and participation will support the charitable works of the Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University. Tickets cost $90.00. The evening will include a silent auction and raffles.

To be a sponsor, purchase tickets and register for the event go to: https://conta.cc/2GLCQsd