Immigration Presentation with Sr. Rita Specht

Sister Rita Specht has been a Religious Sister of Mercy for 60 years. She is an experienced educator having taught both primary school and high school. One of the critical concerns of the Religious Sisters of Mercy is immigration. Sister Rita is fluent in Spanish and for the past 15 years she has answered God’s call to minister to immigrants in the US. She spent 7 years working in El Paso Texas on the border and 2 years working as a chaplain in the El Paso Immigration Detention Center providing spiritual support to the detainees. After returning to the Midwest 5 years ago, Sister began work with the interfaith community for detained immigrants, an organization founded by 2 Religious Sisters of Mercy.  Currently she volunteers at Kankakee County Jail providing spiritual support to the detained immigrants as well as volunteering to provide pastoral visits to inpatients at Little Company of Mary Hospital. Sister shares her unique insight into the challenges faced by immigrants in our nation today.