Angola
Our
mission history in Angola is marked with lots of hard work and sufferings.
On March
6, 1931, the pioneering Sisters, Sr. Alberta
Fischer, Sr. Adriana Kästle, Sr. Anthusa Kindl and Sr. Veremunda Fürst, arrived
in Ganague, South of Angola. On the following year, with our Sisters, Ildephonsa
Behr, Nazarina Lechner, Frowina Hutter and Isberga Gruber, Cuchi mission was
founded, followed by the Cuvango community: (Sr. Dietlinde Kleinlein, Sr.
Gebtraud Grimminger, Sr. Hadmunda Hollik and Sr. Regulinde Reiter). The Sisters
were invited by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, to take care of the
orphans and the intern girls and their formation, as well as catechism,
pastoral and nursing care. These communities were part of the Windhoek Priory.
The three
communities worked with the priests of the Holy Spirit and later on with the Redemptorist
priests. At the beginning of the World War II, the German Sisters were
expelled. But because the Superior of Cuchi hid all their passports, it was
impossible for them to leave.
After WW
II, the community of Cuchi was strengthened with the presence of other Sisters. In 1967, four of our Sisters, invited by The
Singeverga Abbey and the Bishop of Luso, who was also Benedictine, started one
community in Cazombo, east of Angola, near Congo. This foundation was done from
Portugal and the community belonged to the Baltar Priory.
In the
year 1972, the mission in Serpa Pinto, now Menongue, capital of Kuando-Kubango
province, was opened.
It was
very difficult that time because of the fight for independence which was
everywhere. After the declaration of Independence, twenty-seven years of civil
war followed. In 1975, our Sisters were advised to leave Angola. Then the
Sisters of Cazombo community left followed by the Cuchi and Serpa Pinto
communities.
In 1977
three Sisters returned to Angola and were working in Menongue. Meanwhile, the
need of having a house in Luanda was getting stronger. How could it be possible
to install a community in the Capital? Thus in 1982 a community were opened on
the 10th floor of a building which was not very easy due to the
prevalent lack of electricity. The Sisters worked at the Episcopal Conference
and the National Caritas. In 1991, St. Andrew’s convent was founded in
Petrangol district, periphery (outskirts) of Luanda
which served as the formation house. Later on, the sisters were able to acquire
two small houses, annexed, at the center of the city, where the sisters of St.
Benedict community lived until 2013. From the sale of St. Andrew’s house, it
was possible to acquire a land in Kikolo where a convent and formation house
were built.
Already
at the time as the Sisters were living in Cazombo, there were young ladies
interested in our way of life. The fruit of work on vocation promotion is our
Sr. Teresa Maria Umba Cutaneguera, the first African vocation in our
Congregation. On the 80’s the Angolan formandees had their formation
in Nairobi. In after years, the formation was moved to Luanda. Recently, the
plan is that part of the formation of Angolan young formandees is to be spent
in Windhoek, for them to experience at the very beginning of their formation
the internationality of our congregation.
Our Mission in Angola at present
Kikolo/Luanda
Kikolo is an area of 2,4ha acquired in 1998. At that time it was outside the city, but like Luanda, it’s growing rapidly. Now the community is at the middle of a very poor population. It is the only religious community present in St. Elisabeth parish. The sisters are very much involved in many pastoral works. In our terrain there is a school functioning for the formation of the youth and adults, which was initiated by Caritas. We assumed the running of the said school from 2014. Since then, seven classrooms were constructed and some other improvements were being made, so much the construction as well as the pedagogical organization.
Menongue
The community
is composed of seven Sisters who are dedicated in pastoral education in our
school with more than a thousand students. One Sister is working as a nurse in
the public hospital. Apart from their collaboration in the Cathedral parish, some
of the Sisters travel to Cuchi every Saturday to gather the people for
Catechism and prayers, in the middle of the ruins of our old houses.
Kuito
In 1998,
the community in Kuito, Capital of the Province of Bié, was opened. The city
was devastated during the civil war. The fact that in Kuito there are plenty of
schools wherein the sisters as well as the young formandees who are preparing
for consecrated life, could study, is beneficial for the small community.
Waku-Kungo
Portugal
The
beginning of our mission in Portugal is connected with the history of the
Congregation in Angola.
The Sisters
of Cuchi wanted to have Portuguese speaking sisters in the community. Sr. Cristina Eloy da Rosa, a junior Sister,
was sent from Sorocaba Priory to Cuchi, where she had her perpetual vows. The
Abbot of Singeverga, who was visiting the monks in Mexico, came for the
preparation for Sr. Cristina’s final profession. D. Gabriel de Sousa witnessed
the dedication of the Sisters and appreciated their good spirit. Thus he asked
from the Mother General, Mother Maria Lucas Rauch, to send Sisters for the
foundation in Portugal, to prepare vocations for Angola.
On June
9, 1961, feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the “new” convent in Bande was
inaugurated. The pioneering Sisters were
Sr. Liobolda Fetsch, Sr. Martinha Rodrigues, Sr. Regina Lansang and Sr. Wiltrud,
now Monika Zahnbrecher. The farmstead of Bande was given in testament to the Singeverga
Abbey with religious finality. There were existing two small farm houses, two
houses for the caretakers and 11.500m2 of land. The Abbey would only
hand it over to us with the condition of opening a novitiate for the formation
of missionaries. And the first candidates have come.
In 1967,
four Sisters on board went to Cazombo, Angola, for the foundation of a
community. Consequently,
the Congregation is recognized as Missionary Congregation in Portugal.
The
Sisters have had struggled so much to obtain their sustenance. They opened a
school in Paços de Ferreira, a neighbouring place of Bande. The Sisters
collaborated with the Social Center in Baião and gave lessons in one “telescola”, a way of learning via television wherein the pupils are accompanied with a “teacher” as they
followed a program in the TV, giving lessons on basic subjects. But these two initiatives ended in frustrations.
In 1967, a
new offer arose in Paredes, 17 km from Bande that promises a better future.
They started a school and some of the Sisters transferred from Bande to
Paredes. A year after, the sisters bought a house in Baltar with vast terrain where
they can construct a new school.
In 1972,
the three communities, Baltar, Bande and Cazombo formed as one Priory with Sr. Lúcia
Jörger as the first Prioress. April 25,
1974 – the military coup brought down the government. The new regime of the
government threatens the existence of private schools. In our neighborhood a
state-owned secondary school began to function. In June 1977, the sisters were
obliged to close the school.
In 1975,
the Cazombo community have had to withdraw due to civil war. The Priory of
Baltar was suppressed and the community directly was made a dependent of the
Generalate District. From 1977
to 1983, only the community of Baltar existed in Portugal. Two sisters, Sr.
Plácida and Sr. Maria Goretti, were working at EMAUS, center for the mentally
handicapped. Other sisters were
dedicated to pastoral work or studying.
In 1983,
Sr. Edhilt Fasel was nominated Superior and in charged to search for another place
of work. D. António Francisco Marques, bishop of the Diocese of Santarém,
invited the Sisters to administer “Casa de Repouso”, the Nursing Home in Torres Novas, pertaining to Santa Casa da
Misericórdia. They worked here from
1984 to 2011.
The
sisters received a land beside the Casa de Repouso for the construction of the Monastery and a Nursing Home. In 1966,
Torres Novas became the Priory house. A year after, the communities of Spain
integrated to the Priory.
Our mission in Portugal at present
Torres Novas
St.
Benedict’s Monastery is the Priory house. The community is dedicated in taking
care of the elderly. Our nursing home has its capacity of 37. It is a service
that requires lot of dedication and it responds to the great necessity of a
society which is more and more aging.
In our
garden, we have plenty of fruit trees, legumes and vegetables. Every
Sunday, our Chapel is filled of Mass goers. We are in good relations with the
parish, the Diocese of Santarém and the city.
Baltar
The four
sisters of the community in Baltar are all retired. They are active in pastoral
work: Catechism, Liturgy, Parish Council and Ministry of Communion; Visiting
families, Vicentinos, Sacristy and Feasts. The
sisters are very much appreciated by the population.
(with Mother Angela Strobel-center)
Spain
The
history of our community in Spain is very special.
In 1914,
a group of Spanish youth who were working in the Abbey of New Norcia, Australia,
formed a religious association, which transformed into a “Pia Unio” in 1921. These young ladies, with private vows,
called themselves “Benedictine Oblate Sisters”.
In 1933,
two Sisters from this group went to Belgium and had their Canonical Novitiate
in the community of the active Benedictines in Maredsous. Two years after,
which was in the year 1935, the “Benedictine Oblate Sisters” were approved as
Diocesan Congregation. Since 1962, their name was changed to “Missionary
Benedictines of New Norcia.” From 1978 the Congregation became part of the
Benedictine Confederation.
In the
Abbey, the Sisters had been working with children. Three of them, formed one
community in the mission in Kalumburu (North of Australia) and dedicating
themselves to the evangelization of the aborigines, together with the
Benedictine Priests.
In 1964,
six of the Sisters returned to Spain. They worked with special children in Madrid.
From 1968 to 1979, there was an existing community in Barcelona.
In 1973,
a day care for children on the ground floor of the building was opened in
Parla, a neighbouring city of Madrid. The Sisters were living on the third
floor of the same building. After four years, a residence for students was
opened in Carabanchel, Madrid, with a community of the Sisters at the house
next door.
Due to
absence of vocations, the Congregation of the Benedictine Missionaries of New
Norcia, decided in their General Chapter on 1981, to ask for integration to the
Congregation of the Missionary Benedictines of Tutzing. The petition was
accepted in our General Chapter of 1982.
After the
probation period of two years, the integration was made, with the approval of
the Holy See.
The Sisters
of the Manila Priory helped a lot during the integration period. They started
on pastoral work with the Filipino migrant workers in Madrid and Barcelona.
There were then three communities in Spain: in Madrid where the residence for
female students is; in Parla with the day care for children and in Barcelona,
very much dedicated on pastoral work with the Filipino migrant workers.
In
Barcelona, they formed a group of Oblates of St. Benedict, very faithful to us,
even though there were no resident Sisters since 2000. A Sister from Madrid or
Portugal regularly visits the Oblates for their formation. In Madrid there is
also a continuous contact with the Filipino community and a group of Oblates.
Three countries,
three histories, one Priory –great challenges, lot of efforts, big differences
within one and the other reality, but the same ideal that unites us.
(Priory Chapter Council)
No comments:
Post a Comment