Meet Sister Barb

Sister Barbara Paleczny is a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She has engaged in education and faith development with specific interest in healing and in empowering others to heal. After living and serving in North and South America, Europe and Africa, she is now at home in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Barb is getting reacquainted with people, groups, and needs in Waterloo Region. She started by auditing an excellent, free course, Indigenous Canada, led by First Nations personnel at the University of Alberta. Now she is her community’s representative in Canada for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, an initiative known as the Shalom Network.

Background: Sister Barbara was an active Social Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation coordinator for the Canadian Religious Conference - Ontario, and its representative on many Inter-Church Social Justice Coalition Boards (now known as KAIROS) in Canada. She later taught university and continued her social justice work in the United States as Founder and Coordinator of the South Texas Coalition Against Human Trafficking, in collaboration with Sue Menshek SSND and Dottie Last.

For twelve years prior to the pandemic, Sister Barbara was principal and tutor for Solidarity In-Service Teacher Training College Programs in South Sudan, giving Healing Trauma/Psychosocial Support Workshops. Her priority was to teach South Sudanese to assume full leadership to teach others to give these workshops. And they continue to do this, for tens of thousands. Her early experience in teaching all levels of elementary and secondary school and university, and being a pastoral associate in a parish became a solid foundation for this ministry.

As a member of Solidarity with South Sudan, 2008-20, Sister Barbara lived and worked with Sisters, Brothers and Priests from six continents. Based in four main centres -- Malakal, Juba, Old Fangak, and Bor -- Sister Barbara extended her ministry in 25 communities throughout the entire country. 

For much of her life, Barbara couldn’t draw, paint or sing. To her great surprise and delight, she learned to do them all. She loves to walk, swim, relax with others, as well as being alone.

Barbara has doctoral degrees in systemic theology and in theological ethics from The Toronto School of Theology in Toronto, Canada.