In the midst of war the Poor Clares Sisters stayed together with their people.

The Angolan War of Inde­pendence (1961–74) freed the country from its co­lonial Portuguese rulers but immediately plunged it into a 27 year long civil war (1975-2002). The civil war spawned a disas­trous humanitarian crisis, internally displacing one-third of Angola’s total population and seeking to eliminate the Church from the public sphere and from society.

ACN has worked to help the church in Angola rebuild, serve and accompany the country’s Catholics. At the heart of this reality, the contemplative Poor Clare Sisters of “Nossa Senhora dos Anjos” have a particularly important role to play as they pray for peace and healing and the revival of faith in a coun­try where so many people, families, communities are still scarred by war.

In addition to the spiritual du­ties of the contemplative life, the Sisters make baby clothes and religious items for sale in order to bring in a little addi­tional income for the convent, otherwise they live from alms and our support. The monas­tery has a long story with ACN.

The Poor Clare Sisters in Malanje, have lived through a number of battles during the civil war that destroyed so much in Angola. Mother Maria del Carmen Reinoso has shared heroic stories with us.

“It’s a miracle that we’re still alive, but we weren’t hit by a single bullet.” Angola’s civil war was one of the longest and bloodiest on the continent, and the early ‘90s was the most violent period of all. During one of the phases during which the convent was attacked, Mother Maria tells us how the Sisters had to hide in their bread oven in order to take shelter from the terrible hail of bullets that were being fired. The walls were rid­dled but the Sisters saved!

Their convent chapel is today one of the places where the faithful could gather during last year’s Jubilee Year of Mercy as there was one Door of Mercy, something which brought great joy to many.

The Poor Clares in Angola are a living example of merciful and heroic love and their mission and charism are so essential in a country which only just has started to heal.

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“I do not know one day in 33 years I have been there, or elsewhere in Pakistan, where there was no persecution. We are accustomed to the burning of churches and false accusations of the blasphemy laws. When Salman Rushdie published “The Satanic Verses”, a crowd of hundreds of boys rushed into our school with sticks and began to break everything they could see. Our boy students tried to protect our girls by putting them against the wall and stayed in front to protect them, like a shield, but they couldn’t stop the riot.” However, this situation does not deter the Sisters.

“We intend to continue to increase our mission. The Sisters are very enthusiastic about our plans to open more mission stations. We work among the poor, mainly in education since it’s our main objective.” Few years ago, ACN funded the construction project of one of the schools run by the Sisters. They continue to build more school blocks for mission in villages so they can accommodate more children in the primary schools.  “They need furniture, benches, teachers’ desks, boards and all that is needed for a school,” says Sr. Farrugia.

Sr Rakele Agius, another Maltese nun who is a qualified nurse and midwife has opened a pharmacy as there are no other health facilities in the area where people of the surrounding villages can call for help. The sisters also have an orphanage for boys from 3 to 11 years old who are orphans or come from broken families. In addition, they manage a Christian hostel for girls coming from rural areas where there are no educational facilities.

“We bring them here and provide them with a basic educational programme. They stay with us throughout the scholastic year and go home during summer. In this way they can complete their studies and they can eventually sit for Bachelors in Arts or a Master in Management.” Sr. Farrugia asks for our continued spiritual and material support;

“I feel that the prayers of all those who pray for missionaries help us continue to carry out our work. Whatever the need, I can turn to Aid to the Church in Need to help us continue to carry out our work. Then God will provide, as he always did!”

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The mission of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, a Maltese Founded Congregation working in the Philippines is a living witness of how the Maltese and Gozitan benefactors are making a significant difference in the international pastoral and humanitarian projects carried out by Aid to the Church in Need including also the Maltese/ Gozitan missionaries abroad.

In her letter of 18th January 2015, addressed to Fr. Andrzej Halemba, former Head of ACN’s Asia Section and copied to the National Director of ACN (Malta), Stephen Axisa, Sr. Marianne Farrugia, Delegate Superior of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart thanked him for the financial support towards the refurbishment of the Youth Centre in Diwa, Bataan, Philippines.

“To date the Centre is operational and we are able to provide formative opportunities especially for the youth through the different activities organised here”, stated Sr. Marianne Farrugia in her letter. She added that now “the College Graduating students will be provided with a conducive environment for encountering self and God through solitude and guidance.”

Only with your kind generosity we are able to continue supporting Maltese/ Gozitan missionaries and religious sisters in various projects they might need.

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Rwanda, January 2019
Sister Cécire (main character of the video) visiting elders. The Pallotine sisters running a health Centre in Kigali (Masaka district).
INTERNATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL 18/01255 ID: 1804923
Existence help for 39 Pallottine sisters serving in Rwanda and RD Congo , 2018-2019

The congregation has actually 39 Sisters and carries out various apostolate in health centres and schools, in the Marian sanctuary of Our Lady of Kibeho and among orphaned children.

They receive nearly 40,000 patients per year in each of their 6 health centres (Masaka, Gikon-do, Ruhango, Kibeho in Rwanda, Goma and Rutshuru in DR Congo). Each centre offers service of consultation, a laboratory, injections, dressing of wounds, maternity care, hospitalisation, nutrition programmes, vaccinations, pre-natal consultations and HIV/AIDS treatment. In the nutritional centres, some children arrive in such a state of malnutrition that it takes several weeks to treat them and regain a normal weight. In addition to care, the Sisters organise nutrition classes teaching the parents how to prepare balanced meals using local products and encourage them to create gardens to grow vegetables.

Without education there is no future and here the Sisters try to help too. They run two schools “St Vincent Pallotti” in Masaka and Gikondo (Rwanda). They also provide school education for orphaned children and support the spiritual, moral and school education of street children.

Rwanda, January 2019
Sister Cécire (main character of the video) with elders. The Pallotine sisters running a health Centre in Kigali (Masaka district).
INTERNATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL 18/01255 ID: 1804923
Existence help for 39 Pallottine sisters serving in Rwanda and RD Congo , 2018-2019
INTERNATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL 18/01254 ID: 1804917

Beside all these different social services the Pallottine Sisters are eager to provide spiritual “nutrition” as well. In Kibeho, the famous African Marian Shrine, the sisters welcome tens of thousands of pilgrims year by year. Today, pilgrims come from all over the world.

For several years now, ACN has been helping the congregation by allocating an “existence help contribution” that allows the sisters to carry out their various apostolate and enables some of them to follow theological and professional studies to improve their knowledge.

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