Brooklyn-Based Mission Founder Nominated for Lumen Christi Award

Mother Marla Marie Lucas has answered God’s call not once, but twice in her life. In 1983, she left her journalism career at the Washington Post to profess her vows and become a sister of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. Then, in 2008, she founded the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light, a religious congregation dedicated to serving families in need within the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn.

Mother Marla is now a finalist for the Lumen Christi Award, a prestigious honor given by the Catholic Extension Society, a papal organization that supports missions serving underserved communities. The award, named after the Latin phrase *Lumen Christi* (Light of Christ), recognizes individuals and groups whose work reflects Christ’s mission. The winner, to be announced in the fall, will receive $50,000.

“It’s really, for us, a confirmation and God’s blessing on this mission,” Mother Marla said. “Having this recognition is like God saying, ‘You sisters are doing the work that I’ve called you to do for the Maronite people.’” The Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, led by Bishop Gregory Mansour, nominated her for the award. Bishop Mansour praised her courage in establishing a religious community where none had existed before.

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light is a consecrated religious congregation of sisters, small in number but with a broad mandate. Alongside Mother Marla, the congregation includes two other sisters. They engage in faith formation, organize retreats, lead youth and young adult ministries, volunteer in food pantries, and provide pastoral care to the dying and their families.

While their headquarters is a convent in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, the sisters travel extensively as part of their ministry. One week they may be in Pennsylvania, the next in Florida. “We work with everyone from children to the dying, so we span the whole lifespan of the person,” Mother Marla explained. “We meet them where they’re at, and we work with them by serving them, praying with them, listening to them, supporting them and trying to meet whatever their spiritual and material needs may be.”

“We are called by God to imitate Mary and her selfless giving and to radiate the light of Christ through our pastoral service,” she said. Mother Marla originally planned a career in journalism, graduating from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with dreams of becoming a reporter.

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