May 11, 2018
At the end of April, the MSC Missions Office in Cork received a lovely letter from Fr Ondrej Slavik in Saratov, Russia. Fr Ondrej got in touch to extend his thanks to the mission friends of the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for their kindness and generosity, as a recent donation has allowed for the purchase of a new minibus to assist in parish activities.
Together with Bishop Clemens Pickel, Fr Ondrej appealed for helping in buying a minibus for the parish of St Clement in Saratov. “I am very pleased to inform you that, thanks to your support, we were able to purchase a new VW Caravelle minibus for the pastoral activities of our parish,” writes Fr Ondrej.
“On behalf of myself and the whole parish, the people whom this car will serve, I express my most sincere gratitude.”
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working to share the message of God’s love in Russia for over 20 years, as the country’s churches began to rebuild themselves after their collapse during the revolution. The Russian mission began with just three MSC priests in 1995, and today, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart continue to support the work being done by local communities in Russia as we encourage social and spiritual development in regions in need.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS WORLDWIDE
May 8, 2018
We are delighted to hear that the first group of Loreto graduates have moved into the MSC Graduate House & Women’s Shelter!
Last summer, we asked our mission friends in the Irish Province to join with us and reach out to help the Loreto Sisters to transform lives in South Sudan. A country in the grip of a terrible crisis, the community of Rumbek faced unimaginable struggles with violence, illness, and malnutrition – and it still does.
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of spirit shown by our mission friends in Ireland and around the world, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been able to send support to the Loreto Sisters in Rumbek, where they run a primary school, a secondary school, a health care unit, and a graduate programme. They have already been able to make a difference to thousands of local people, and now, the MSC-funded Graduate House & Women’s Shelter has opened its doors to 16 young women who are working towards a brighter future.
The graduate programme will allow them to develop their skills and talents within various employment roles, giving them a solid foundation for future careers. This endeavour has lit a beacon of hope where the future once looked bleak, and we wish the Loreto community all the very best as they begin this exciting new chapter!
Read more about the work of the Loreto community in South Sudan as they celebrate 10 years in Rumbek.
You can also find out more about recent developments at Loreto Rumbek here.
PLEASE HELP US TO SAVE LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
You can also follow the Loreto Schools’ progress via Facebook or on their website.
May 2, 2018
The summer edition of the MSC Message has arrived!
• Catch up with the latest news from the mission fields, with updates from our ongoing projects in South Africa and South Sudan.
• Discover more about new mission projects in Mozambique and Cameroon.
• Read a special tribute to the late Fr Mark McDonald MSC, former Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
• Read a summer message from Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Get up to date with the latest news from Fr Alan Neville MSC and the MSC Vocations Team.
Read the MSC Message Summer 2018
May 2, 2018
Khana Kockedhie Magel, a 16-year-old student at the Loreto Girls’ Secondary School in Rumbek, has been named winner of this year’s UN Missions essay-writing competition for secondary school students in South Sudan. As a young woman in a country that has been torn asunder by conflict and violence, Khana composed a message of hope and optimism in response to the topic set by the UNMISS contest: “How can women contribute to durable peace in South Sudan?”
“Women may be the only hope left to bring peace to South Sudan.”
12 Loreto students entered the contest, with two girls reaching the top five in the Lake State region. Ating Kaman Makoi won third prize, while Khana, a student from the Senior 3 class, was awarded the regional prize for the winning essay, with the message that “women may be the only hope left to bring peace to South Sudan”.
Khana’s message is clear: if South Sudan is to achieve lasting peace, women’s voices need to be heard. “Women play an important role in bringing up the future generation,” she says. “If they get the chance, they can provide permanent solutions to the conflict in South Sudan and assure the young that peace will come. Eventually it will result in economic growth and a better South Sudan for all of us, and for generations to come.”
“For women to make a difference, they need to be given a proper education.”
Mr Dut Makoi Kuok, Minister for Education in Western Lakes, spoke at the awards ceremony, acknowledging the crucial role of women as “builders of the nation”. “Women, in my understanding, are the builders of society,” he said. “They will always think about and do what is right for their children, and therefore for their society.”
Speaking at the awards, Mr Kwame Dwamena Aboagye, Head of the UN Mission’s Field Office in Rumbek, also gave words of encouragement to the students gathered, urging them to “study well”. “It is only through education that durable peace can be realised in South Sudan, and for women to make a difference, they need to be given a proper education,” he said.
This is exactly the message that the Loreto community promotes at their Rumbek schools, and we at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are proud to support them in their efforts to help as many young women as possible.
“I hope that fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say: yes, women can.”
Khana has taken this message to heart, and her award-winning essay speaks clearly of the need for respect, mercy, and peace – beginning in the home. “If a mother fights with a neighbouring woman, her child on the following day will fight with the neighbour’s child, hence leading to disputes and hatred,” she writes. Peace must begin within every individual, Khana surmises: “If you find peace within yourself you become the kind of person who can live in peace with others.”
A national winner of the essay content will be named at an awards ceremony in Juba, the country’s capital, on May 9th. Khana will represent the Loreto schools at the ceremony – and she has already made her school and her community very proud. She closes her essay with a truly inspirational thought for us all: “I hope that fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say: yes, women can”.
Congratulations to Khana, from all at the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart!
PLEASE SUPPORT EDUCATION IN SOUTH SUDAN
Read more about Khana’s award on the Loreto Rumbek website and on ReliefWeb.
Apr 30, 2018
Early this April, the Loreto schools in Maker Kuei swapped their times tables for dancing and textbooks for cake as they celebrated their 10th anniversary in style!
The week-long celebration included a host of activities and events, alongside special meals with the students and the wider community of locals who work with the Loreto Sisters.
“This has been a wonderful week for us all.”
“The school has received immense support from Ireland,” says Benjamin Sprunger, the Loreto Programmes Manager in Rumbek. As well as aid from the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the school has also received funding from IrishAid through Misean Cara. IrishAid Ambassador Sonya Hyland travelled to Maker Kuei to join the celebrations, representing the Irish support for the Loreto schools and the great work that is done in the community. Construction of the Loreto Graduate House, supported by MSC funding, had such been completed, and Sonya Hyland was able to stay in one of the rooms on her visit, before the girls moved in just last week.
“This has been a wonderful week for us all,” says Sr Orla Treacy, principal of the Loreto schools. “Each day was packed with activities and fun.”
“We were, however, very conscious of the absence of two visionaries for our schools – our late Bishop Cesar, who dreamed the dream of the girls’ school, and our late Provincial, Sr Teresa MacPaul, who helped take the steps to make the dream a reality.”
The Loreto community first opened the doors of their secondary school in 2008, with just 35 students in Primary 8 and Senior 1. Today, two schools welcome 1057 primary school students and almost 300 secondary school girls. The Loreto Sisters have also set up a health care clinic, which provides medical aid and health education to women and children in the Maker Kuei community.
“Thanks to you all for joining hands with us in prayers and support to ensure this dream continues, from all of us in Loreto Rumbek,” says Sr Orla.
We send our heartiest congratulations to the Loreto Sisters and students in Rumbek on this wonderful occasion! We at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are proud to support the great work being done to bring hope to a country in peril; together, we are on the path to a brighter future.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE ONGOING WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN
Apr 23, 2018
“Sister India” recounts the story of Sr Loreto Houlihan, a 91-year-old Irish missionary, who has spent 70 years teaching in India.
A new documentary by Irish filmmaker Myles O’Reilly, which is currently being screened at a number of film festivals in Ireland and in India, tells the story of a 91-year-old Irish missionary sister who has spent 70 years teaching in India.
‘Sister India’ recounts the story of Presentation nun, Sr Loreto (Peg) Houlihan who was born near Carrick-on-Suir in Co Tipperary in 1927.
The documentary has already been screened at the Dingle International Film Festival and the Silk Road Film Festival.
“Sister India” is due to be screened at the Fastnet Film Festival on 23rd-27th May and at the International Christian Film Festival in Florida. Later this summer, it will be shown at the Ink Well Theatre in Tracton, Co Cork on 18th August, and at the Clare Island Film Festival.
Film-maker Myles O’Reilly has said that he is not very religious but when he saw Sr Loreto’s deep love of India and its people, he found it heart-warming.
“Sitting in front of her and listening to her talk was like being warmed by the hearth of an Irish fireplace on a rainy day hearing stories as she it from ‘the long ago’. I learned from her that India and its culture retains more of the life she left 70 years ago in Ireland than the country of her birth today, and so she chooses to live the rest of her days in India for that natural familiarity” he explained.
Read more about the life of Sister Loreto Houlihan here.
Information sourced from articles written by Áine Edwards for The Irish Times and Sarah Mac Donald for Catholic Ireland.
