Taken from a press release issued  by the office of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor

   U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa Bay, FL) announced that long-time community servant, Sr. Anne Dougherty, OSF, will be her special guest to the U.S. Capitol for Pope Francis' address to a Joint Meeting of Congress on Thursday, September 24. Pope Francis will be the first leader of the Catholic Church to address Congress.

   "I am honored that Sr. Anne (Dougherty) will be my guest and will represent the Tampa Bay community at Pope Francis' historic address," said U.S. Rep. Castor. "She is a selfless leader and has provided spiritual guidance for our community for decades at the Franciscan Center, at Francis House, to the Tampa Police Department, and to local students."

   Sr. Anne has been the President and CEO of the Franciscan Center since 2012, but has served the Tampa Bay community since the 1980s, when she helped found the Francis House to provide services and support for people facing HIV and AIDS.  For a decade Sr. Anne has served as chaplain for the Tampa Police Department and the FBI. Prior to her current role, she served as administrator of Graduate Support at Academy Prep, a private, nonprofit school in Tampa, where she worked with U.S. Rep. Castor to coordinate tours of the U.S. Capitol for her students.

   "I feel like I won the lottery," said Sr. Anne, who is originally from Philadelphia, one of the three cities Pope Francis will visit while in the United States. "I am very pleased and honored. The Pope has taken up the name of St. Francis of Assisi who is the patron saint of the Franciscan Center and the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, NY.  Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi by reaching out to the marginalized and all of God's creation."

   Sr. Anne saw the Pope while visiting the Vatican two years ago but said that sitting in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives for this historic address will be an entirely different experience.

   The Franciscan Center is a spiritual retreat center in Tampa. Its mission, in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, is to welcome everyone who seeks spiritual growth through a deeper relationship with God in a place of peace, community, healing and joy.

   In addition, U.S. Rep. Castor announced that a limited number of tickets to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, where jumbotrons will broadcast the Pope's address, are available to constituents of her district who will be in Washington, D.C. during this event.

   "Thousands from all over the United States and the world will make the pilgrimage for the Pope's visit to the U.S. Capitol and our neighbors have an opportunity to be part of it. We anticipate that Pope Francis will come out and wave from the Capitol balcony," U.S. Rep. Castor added.

   After visiting Cuba, the Pope arrives in Washington, D.C. on September 22, and then is scheduled to visit New York and Philadelphia. 

   Wes Wingett, a renowned counselor who has given seminars across the world, will be giving a series of talks at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse this week.  Dr. Wingett's first talk, "Intimacy, a Task for Two within the Family Structure," will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16. That talk is open to the public, and will focus on helping individuals and couples define their personal, creative, and personally determined perspective toward the task of love within the family structure through the lens of Adlerian Psychology. He will then give two talks for Sisters - "Creative Aging - Engaging the Whole Person" and "Finding a Way - loss, grief, and resolution" - at 10 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, with staff presentations on Thursday afternoon.   

   Dr. Wingett has conducted Adlerian-based training across the United States, Puerto Rico, in Canada, and in five countries in Europe. In addition to private counseling and training talks, Dr. Wingett serves as a faculty member at Wayne State College in Nebraska and Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, and has been named a Diplomat in Alderian Psychology by the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology.