Missionaries of Charity visit families, the sick and dying on the Andaman Islands
The Sisters of Mother Teresa arrived in the capital of Port Blair in 1994. Four of them currently work on the archipelago, helping the sick and dying at their time of need as well as supporting the poor by funding their children’s education.
Port Blair (AsiaNews) – Four Missionaries of Charity (a congregation founded by St Teresa of Kolkata) are involved in charity work on the Andaman Islands, helping families in trouble and visiting them every day, bringing a word of comfort to the sick and dying and assisting them in their time of need, supporting the poor by paying school fees for their children.
One of them, Sister Rose Ann, 50, spoke to AsiaNews about her daily work in favour of local people. In particular, she noted that she and her sisters not only offer material help but also provide spiritual support because what counts is "experiencing God’s love."
The Sisters of Mother Teresa came to the Indian archipelago in 1994, in Port Blair. Today they have created two communities, one in the capital and another in Diglipur.
"We visit families every day,” Sister Rose Ann said. “We help Catholics in prayers. We make them understand the importance of the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation. We pay particular attention to families with difficulties and to their neighbours. We help them forgive and receive forgiveness, because this way they can experience God’s love."
In Diglipur, the Sisters run a home for the sick and dying. "This year we welcomed a man who became bedridden. With the Lord’s grace and loving care, he healed and resumed walking. He returned home a happy man."
At present, the facility accommodates ten men and four women. "We also have two unmarried parents and their six children. We are helping them to build a house. We give them material support and pay for the children’s education."
The Missionaries also have a mobile clinic to "treat the sick in distant villages. People come to us for medicines, and trust very much our care."
The Sisters also visit 13 Christian base communities. "We held a novena of prayer and prepared people for reconciliation."
In three other Catholic communities, the nuns organise centres "in which we encourage the faithful to devote themselves truly to Jesus' heart and to recite the Rosary in the family. We pray with them the rosary of Divine Mercy, listen to their problems and sustain them materially at all time. We teach catechism in the villages."
"Finally,” said Sr Rose Ann, “we visit hospitals, talk to the patients and pray with them for a quick recovery. We help them accept suffering as a gift from God."
.png)
14/05/2021 17:23
06/05/2017 16:01
