The ANNA Trust Foundation: Upcoming Webinars & Initiatives
The ANNA Trust works alongside congregations worldwide, with a special focus on those in challenging circumstances, to promote a dignified and healthy aging journey for Catholic sisters. It values their lasting contribution to ministry and is committed to ensuring they receive the care and support needed for the years ahead.
Upcoming Webinars
Is Dementia Preventable, December 15 2025
This webinar provides some strategies to reduce the risk of developing dementia or at least mitigate its development. Following on from the first of the three webinars the speakers will be Sr. Peter Lillian, O.Carm., BA, LNHA and Alfred Norwood, MBA, BS, Avila Institute Faculty. Moderator Sr. Siobhán O'Keeffe, S.S.H.J.M.
Safeguarding for Senior Female Religious - Challenges and Directions, January 21 2026
This webinar seeks to explore the particular challenges for safeguarding senior female religious face today, and to identify directions for a future rooted in safety and dignity. The speaker will be Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, Director of the Institute of Anthropology. Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. The moderator will be Sr. Siobhán O'Keeffe, SS.H.J.M, The Anna Trust Cognitive Impairment Program Director.
Religious Life: Caring for the Past to Build the Future, January 22 2026
A prayer often attributed to St. Oscar Romero was in fact written by US Bishop Bishop Ken Untener. It expresses the idea that our efforts in life often only bear fruit in a future that we do not live to see. Care of our elderly members honours that prophetic dimension of their lives and shows the value we place on the contribution they have made to an unknown future. The speaker will be Sr. Gemma Simmonds, CJ, a senior research fellow at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge where she teaches pastoral theology and Christian spirituality and the moderator will be Sr. Siobhán O'Keeffe, SS.H.J.M, The Anna Trust Cognitive Impairment Program Director.
The Psychological Impact of Dementia, February 11 2026
This session will explore the emotional and psychological impact of caring for someone with Dementia, focusing on ways we can understand our own responses and how to support ourselves. The speaker of the event will be Dr Ruth Watson.BSc,Clin.Psy.D., C.Psychol, AFBPsS, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Lead for Later Life Psychology in the British NHS. The moderator will be Sr. Siobhán O'Keeffe, SS.H.J.M, The Anna Trust Cognitive Impairment Program Director.
To register please visit the website resources page https://annatrustfoundation.org/en/resources/webinars/
Training Programme (Coming in 2026)
The ANNA Trust will launch a Dementia Care Training Programme for Sisters in 2026. Further details will be announced later.
International Collaboration: Clinical Dementia Education
In collaboration with the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin and its associated UK neurology department, ANNA Trust is developing an International Dementia Certificate Course for Clinical Professionals aimed at global religious communities. This initiative is especially pertinent for sister doctors and other clinicians involved in dementia care.
Additional Initiatives
The Foundation recently launched a Cognitive Impairment Support Initiative, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, in partnership with the Avila Institute for Gerontology. This program equips sisters worldwide to understand and care compassionately for those experiencing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease—grounded in a gospel-based, compassionate ethos.
About ANNA Trust
The ANNA Trust is a global nonprofit based in Rome dedicated to supporting the collective efforts of congregations globally, especially those in vulnerable contexts, to ensure a healthy, dignified aging process for all Catholic sisters and to help them provide the relevant long-term care needed.