April 10, 2019 - Cardinal O'Malley Appoints Sr. Germana Santos, F.S.P., Delegate for Religious in th

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap, has appointed Sr. Germana Santos, F.S.P., as Delegate for Religious for the Archdiocese of Boston. Sr. Germana is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul religious community. She succeeds Sr. Marian Batho, CSJ, who was elected to a leadership role with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. 

“We are blessed to welcome Sr. Germana to this important leadership position in the Archdiocese of Boston,” said Cardinal Seán. “Originally from the island of Faial in the Azores, Sr. Germana came to the United States as a teenager, where she joined the Daughters of St. Paul. In appointing Sister as Delegate, I thought it was important that we had a sister from one of the larger communities represented in the Archdiocese, as well as someone who has the experience of religious life.”

The Delegate for Religious is the primary liaison for the more than 2,000 men and women religious in the Archdiocese of Boston enriching parish life, supporting Catholic schools and contributing to social justice outreach among many others. Sr. Germana, who will be starting in May, has been a Daughter of St. Paul provincial for the US-English Speaking Canada Province, and regional superior for their Great Britain delegation. She has also spent about sixteen years working in the area of formation in her congregation, including several years in Rome. The Cardinal added, “We welcome Sr. Germana, and are very grateful to the Daughters of St. Paul for allowing her to take on this responsibility.”

“I am honored and humbled to serve in this position as Delegate for Religious for the Archdiocese of Boston,” said Sr. Germana. “My gratitude goes to Cardinal Sean O’Malley for his trust in our congregation and in me to fulfill this role. Having lived the consecrated life for many years myself, and in various leadership and formation roles in my community, I am looking forward to serving, and collaborating, with the men and women religious of the Archdiocese of Boston, and also doing what I can to promote religious vocations.”

Sr. Germana Santos was born in Horta, Island of Faial, in the Azores Islands (Portugal). She and her family emigrated to the United States in 1967, settling in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area, and becoming U.S. citizens. While still a student at Pacific High School in San Leandro, CA, Germana heard a Daughter of St. Paul speak on a local radio station about religious life. She subsequently met the sisters at their Pauline Book & Media Center in Oakland, CA. Then, with her family’s blessing, she entered the community’s high school aspirancy program in Boston, MA in 1970 and received her high school diploma the following year. Discerning her vocation as a Daughter of St. Paul, she completed the novitiate and made first profession in 1974 and final vows in 1979.

In expressing her gratitude for the leadership of Sr. Marian as Delegate for Religious, Sr. Germana said, “Sr. Marian is to be admired for the dedication and competence with which she fulfilled her ministry. She is a person of harmony who always sought to create communion and communication among the men and women religious, and as liaison between them and the Archdiocese of Boston.”

Fluent in English, Portuguese and Italian, Sr. Germana she holds a Licentiate in Psychology, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (1991), AB in Liberal Arts, Magdalene College, Warner, NH (1984), Certificate in Catechetics, St. Paul House of Studies (1984) and Daughters of St. Paul High School, Boston, MA (1971).

The Daughters of St. Paul are an international congregation which has given Sr. Germana the opportunity to carry out the community’s ministry and contemporary charism of communication and evangelization in both the USA and in Europe, including Honolulu, HI; Anchorage, AK; Charleston, SC; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; Rome, Italy; and London, England.