Join us as we celebrate the Center at Mariandale in its 50th year! For decades, Mariandale has been a gathering place for those seeking to connect with God, themselves, and with the beauty of nature. Thousands of people have passed through our halls on retreats of many kinds: health and wellness, interfaith discussions, Catholic spirituality, Indigenous Wisdom, women's retreats, silent retreats and more. Mariandale has been a welcomed source of nourishment for many who often feel at the margins of church and society. Over time, we have also deepened our relationship here in Ossining which includes a healing hut, a labyrinth walk, and it is right on the Hudson where many have enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Through this series, we will lift up the work that the Dominican Sisters of Hope and their co-workers have done here at Mariandale since its founding. The series sessions will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8pm, and each session will include prayer, sharing stories about Mariandale, a guest speaker, then Q&A. You are welcome to journey with us through the full series, or to attend a single talk. Our series and per session fees reflect a sliding scale at 3 levels for each: Supporting, Sustaining, and Scholarchip levels.

Dr. Phyllis Zagano is Senior Research Associate-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor of Religion at Hofstra University. She has also taught at Fordham, Boston, and Yale Uiversity. Her groundbreaking study, Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church (Crossroad, 2000), won both Catholic Press Association and College Theology Society Annual Book Awards. Her many awards also include the 2014 Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice from The Paulist Center Community in Boston. Dr. Zagano’s most recent book, The Vatican and Women Deacons (Orbis Books, 2026) traces the discussion about ordaining women as deacons through six Vatican commissions, from 1973 to the present. Her scholarship on women in the diaconate led to her appointment by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women in 2016.