Sisters of the Holy Cross Announce New President

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross elected Sister Sharlet Ann Wagner, CSC as its new President and General Council July 16–17, during the Congregation’s 27th General Chapter meetings. 

Sisters Esther Adjoa Entsiwah, CSC, Taposi (Gomes), CSC, Verónica A. Fajardo, CSC, and Violet Rodrigues, CSC, were elected as councilors. 

Sister Sharlet, incoming president, has been serving as the executive director of the Newcomer Network of Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Washington, since 2020. The program assists immigrants with legal services and connects them to comprehensive supports. From 2014–2019, she served as first councilor of the Congregation’s General Administration and, from 2009–2014, as general secretary of the team. Prior ministries include her service as an immigration attorney and department director with Holy Cross Ministries, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the Congregation in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also worked as an immigration attorney with Central American Resource Center, served as a clinic worker in Uganda, and taught high school English and journalism in the U.S. Sister Sharlet entered the Congregation from Reno, Nevada, in 1988.

“I’m honored and humbled to be elected to serve my Congregation in this role. The General Chapter set an exciting and full course for the next five years,” says Sister Sharlet. “The entire Congregation will be involved in renewing our life together as we seek to witness to God’s transforming love for the life of the world. I and my team are eager to, in the words of our founder, 'hurry, and be about this work of resurrection'.”

Sister Sharlet will take over as president on September 1 and will be installed on Sunday, September 8. She replaces Sister Veronique Wiedower '70, CSC, who has served as president of the Congregation since 2014.

Sister Esther Adjoa Entsiwah, CSC, incoming councilor, currently serves as a general councilor on the 2019–2024 General Administration. She is also on the boards of Saint Mary’s College and The Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington, Maryland. Prior to that, she taught in schools in Ghana and Uganda. She was also headmistress of Our Lady of Holy Cross School, Kasoa, Ghana. Sister Esther served as Area of Africa coordinator and previously was a candidate director in Ghana and a country vocation animator. She entered the Congregation in 1991 from Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. Sister Esther shares: “I am a visionary and can work with others to dream, reflect and discern. In a team, I can help create processes that will lead us to build bridges that will connect us and strengthen our international community dreams.”

Sister Taposi (Gomes), CSC, incoming councilor, has served as a financial consultant in the Congregation’s Finance Department since 2021. Since 2019 she has been a member of the board of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. From 2014–2019 she was councilor and treasurer for the Congregation’s Area of Asia. She prior served six years as assistant director of Student Affairs at Holy Cross College, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and nine years as assistant treasurer for the Area of Asia. She also helped establish several institutions of education and ministries in Bangladesh and India. Sister Taposi entered the Congregation from Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1989. She says, “I believe in God’s providence to be open to the Spirit for the service of the Congregation and its worldwide mission.”

Sister Verónica A. Fajardo, CSC, incoming councilor, has served as a mental health counselor with Holy Cross Ministries, Salt Lake City, Utah, since 2020. Preceding this role, she served at a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse in Utah, in various social service agencies in Los Angeles (2014–2017), and with immigrants at Holy Cross Ministries (2011–2014). Sister Veró also taught elementary education for five years and served as a teacher mentor. She entered the Congregation in 2003 from Los Angeles, California. She shares, “I am a lifetime learner and active listener and look forward to learning more about ways to support our sisters in their community and ministry journeys throughout the world.”

Sister Violet Rodrigues, CSC, incoming councilor, has served as the Area of Asia coordinator for the Congregation since 2019. She held that same role from 2009 to 2014 while also teaching at Holy Cross College, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She currently also serves as the vice president of the Bangladesh Conference of Religious. She was the novice director of the Area from 2005–2009, and at Nirmola Education Center, Kulaura, Bangladesh, Sister Violet taught and served as headmistress for seven years. She entered the Congregation from Noakhali, Bangladesh in 1984. “[This role] is a tremendous responsibility that I will promise to the sisters,” says Sister Violet. “But in this journey, I am not alone. Together, with the sisters, we move forward.”

The body of the General Chapter also approved the 2024 General Chapter Direction Statement of the Congregation, which the new leadership and Congregation membership will actively live into and promote over the next five years.

August 15, 2024