Saint Luke Institute (SLI) President Rev. Patrick J. McDevitt, CM, PhD and Sr. Salvatrice Murphy, DC, President of the SLI Board of Directors, are pleased to announce that this year’s October Benefit will take place at 6:30 p.m., Friday, October 16, 2026, at the scenic Columbia Country Club, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Details, including sponsorship opportunities, are available at SLI.org/benefit.
The largest annual supporting event for SLI, the October Benefit coincides on or near the feast of its organizational patron, St. Luke the Evangelist. In addition, this year’s Benefit holds extra meaning and resonance. “This year we will inaugurate SLI’s 50th anniversary and mark the beginning of a five-year, growth-dedicated strategic endeavor. This comprehensive effort will touch all aspects of the organization as it responds to the growing mental health needs within the US and global Catholic Church,” Fr. McDevitt said. The event also falls within Mental Health Awareness Week and the National Catholic Novena for Mental Health sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
During this year’s event, SLI will also honor a Daughter of Charity who has served vulnerable men, women and children through decades of ministry – Sister Mary Bader. In her 20 years of service as Chief Executive Officer at St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families in Hyattsville, Maryland, and through stints as an elementary school teacher and principal, she has seen first-hand the crucial role mental health and other support services play in transforming lives for the better. Sr. Bader has also served on numerous boards for Washington, D.C.-based nonprofits, including Providence Hospital, St. Anselm’s Abbey School, and So Others Might Eat (SOME).
Sr. Bader will receive the Saint Luke Award. The award is presented by the SLI Board of Directors to someone whose professional life or charitable works embody the ideals of the Institute: the rebuilding of the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual life of those in need. In undertaking these tasks, the honoree is motivated by the Gospel ideals of compassion, charity and a belief that all persons are brothers and sisters in Christ.
In addition to her external ministries, Sr. Bader has also devoted years of service to her religious community, the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a society of apostolic life for women in the Church which was founded by St. Vincent de Paul, a French priest, and St. Louise de Marillac, a lay woman and widow, in the 17th century. Sr. Mary has served on various committees, including those for addressing needs related to homelessness and insecure housing.
Sr. Bader noted the positive impact of SLI’s decades of care for religious women and men, as well as clergy across the country and around the world: “During my years of ministry, I have known many religious and clergy, especially religious sisters, who have turned to SLI for the uniquely important mental health care and spiritual support its staff provides. The longstanding partnership of the Daughters of Charity and SLI is mirrored in the service each offers – compassion, mercy, and deep respect for every person,” she said. Further, as SLI looks to its future, she noted the increased need for this unique type of integrated mental health and spiritual care: “Today, as societal and economic pressures increase, religious, clergy and all church ministers and leaders are front-line responders to the vulnerable and the marginalized. SLI supports these crucial leaders through its efforts to ‘heal the healers.”
Sr. Murphy, also a Daughter of Charity, highlighted the depth of Sr. Bader’s dedication: “In all of the ways in which Sr. Mary has touched the lives of the poor, marginalized and vulnerable, she has done so with a deep care and reverence for each and every person. Those who have been touched by her ministry know not only of her deep devotion to our Catholic faith, to our Daughters of Charity community, and to the service of others; they have experienced it directly in her care for each one of them. That is her vocational gift,” Sr. Murphy said. “All of the work of mental and spiritual wellbeing for religious, clergy and ministers offered at SLI is echoed in Sr. Mary’s dedicated ministry. It is a blessing to share in the life of our apostolic community with her, and an honor to present the Saint Luke Award to her,” she continued.
For his part, Fr. McDevitt reflected on the confluence of these themes at a crucial time for SLI: “As we prepare for our October Benefit, we look forward to a blessed night of celebration that will honor Sr. Mary, beginning a year-long commemoration of SLI’s 50 years of bringing hope and healing, and inaugurating our next 50 years. It’s all about hope – so of course it’s the hottest ticket in town! We look forward to welcoming old and new friends and supporters on October 16,” he said.
Learn more about sponsorship, future ticket sales, and other ways to support the Annual Benefit, as well as more about Sr. Mary Bader.
Download a PDF version of this media release.
###
About Saint Luke Institute
Saint Luke Institute (SLI) is an independent, international, multiservice Catholic mental health treatment and education center which furthers Christ’s healing ministry through psychological, spiritual and educational services for those who serve the Church. SLI provides clinical evaluations, multi-month day treatment care, outpatient mental health therapy, integrated spiritual care, spiritual direction, candidate assessment for clergy and religious life, consultations for Church leaders, education and wellness programs. For five decades, SLI has cared for the mental wellness and spiritual needs of thousands of Catholic clergy, as well as women and men religious, enabling hundreds of Catholic institutions around the world better serve their parishes, missions and organizations.
For inquiries, please contact us here.