On Friday, September 5, 2025, forty-five Catholic Sisters and people of faith sailed the Hudson River on a Pilgrimage of Hope for Creation. The event, organized by Religious Organizations Along the River (ROAR) and the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement, was an opportunity to raise awareness about pollution in the Hudson River. The Dominican Sisters of Hope were represented by Sister Mary Feigen, OP and Leeanna Varga.
Forty-five people participated in the pilgrimage, including Catholic sisters from 10 religious congregations: the Sisters of Charity of New York, the Dominican Sisters of Hope, Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, Ursulines of the Roman Union, Sisters of the Divine Compassion, and the Maryknoll Sisters. They were joined by an Episcopal monk from Holy Cross Monastery in Hyde Park and leaders from Catholic organizations including the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement and the Laudato Si’ Movement, as well as several environmental groups, including Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, and the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Seminary in New York City.
According to Sister Carol De Angelo, SC, ROAR member and Director of the Office of Peace, Justice, and the Integrity of Creation for the Sisters of Charity of New York, the pilgrims were called to “seek and see the holy in the river.”
“A pilgrimage is a journey towards the sacred,” said De Angelo. “Humans are kin to creation…We need a new way of living and being, to recognize we’re all part of one single sacred community.”
The group of pilgrims first rallied in Cold Spring, NY to raise awareness about the pollution threatening the River. They stood at the water’s edge with signs and prayed together. They then boarded the Clearwater Sloop and spent three hours on the River, learning about water quality and the health of marine life, praying, and speaking with environmental leaders.
As a follow-up, the Dominican Sisters of Hope are hosting a Zoom debrief on Thursday, Sept 25 at 2 pm ET, during which the pilgrims will share their experience with the public and invite all into prayer and action. Sign up here.
The well-being of all who live in the Hudson Valley bioregion –plants, fish, and the nearly 400,000 people who rely on these sources for drinking water– is threatened by millions of gallons of harmful wastewater. Gaps in current New York environmental regulations allow the Hudson and other New York rivers to be polluted by landfill leachate, a toxic liquid that is created as water percolates through landfills. Approximately 89 million gallons of landfill leachate were discharged into the Mohawk River and Hudson River Estuary each year from 2019–2023. These discharges occurred at municipal sewage treatment plants, and that volume is enough to fill about 12,400 average-sized tanker trucks.
Yet, the Hudson, as well as nearby rivers, serves as drinking water sources for approximately 368,000 people, including populations disproportionately impacted by environmental harms.
The river is a living being,” John Lipscomb, a retired Riverkeeper boat captain, told the group. “It is not a resource. The river is waiting on us to step up and help. The reason to come out here today is to reinforce in ourselves that we’re river protectors, not river observers. I find the spirit and faith in this group inspirational.”
We invite you to take action with us by urging the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to close the leachate loophole:
1. Read the sample letter HERE
2. Add a short opening about why this matters to you—personalized messages have greater impact.
3. Complete the required fields and click “Send Message.”
And, please join us on Zoom on Thursday, September 25th. All are welcome.