THE Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been dubbed “nuns on the run” after a turbulent past that saw them flee from Sudan to Uganda, trekking through jungles and dodging hostile troops.
The nuns are the focus of a fundraising campaign by Catholic Mission in Australia.
Catholic Mission fosters Church leadership all over the world through the Society of St Peter Apostle.
As well as supporting more than 30,000 major seminarians in all the mission territories of the Church, Catholic Mission also backs the training of religious sisters during their two-year novitiate.
The Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary congregation were founded in Sudan in 1980 but were forced to flee in 1995 because of the civil war.
The nuns spent weeks on the run from armed forces with no regular supplies of food and water and some became lost.
Superior Sister Josephine Tresoldi recalled the young women’s emotional and spiritual struggle to get where they were today.
All the sisters, Sudanese and Ugandan, are longing to return to Sudan, but for now most will continue their formation in Kampala and Nairobi in Kenya.
A small group has returned to Yambio in southern Sudan to run a hostel for girls.
To support the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other sisters, brothers and seminarians in the developing world phone Catholic Mission on 1800 257 296 or visit www.catholicmission.org.au
