“Deirdre Byrne wears many hats — quite literally: a scrub hat when she’s doing surgery and a habit as part of her everyday attire.”

That’s how Sister Deirdre Byrne, a member of the community of The Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts in Washington, D.C., is described in this Jan. 25 article published by The Washington Times.

Sister Dede, as she likes to be known, has a truly unique CV. Along with being a religious sister, she has served as a doctor and reservist in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and as a volunteer doctor working for Catholic Charities in Kenya as well as in Washington.

Says the Times article, “She’s a healer, and in her unique position as a nun and general surgeon (she also is board certified in family medicine) she’s concerned with life here on Earth — and the hereafter.”

The Washington Times article and video about Sister Dede serve as a perfect companion to our last Daily Blog post, about Laura Cartagena’s similarly selfless dedication to serving disadvantaged people in the nation’s capital.

These two women — one a religious and the other a laywoman — offer complementary models of Catholic service. And together, they bear witness to the collective contribution of countless other Catholic women in building a culture of life and love in contemporary America.