Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

This Franciscan nun is delivering love, care and hot meals to those in need across Brisbane

byEmilie Ng
10 September 2020
Reading Time: 4 mins read
AA

Charity in action: Franciscan Immaculatine Sister Salvacion Bunao with Lita Espinosa, a woman who volunteers to help Sr Bunao reach out to vulnerable members of the South Brisbane parish community with friendship and a hot meal. Photo: Supplied

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Charity in action: Franciscan Immaculatine Sister Salvacion Bunao with Lita Espinosa, a woman who volunteers to help Sr Bunao reach out to vulnerable members of the South Brisbane parish community with friendship and a hot meal. Photo: Supplied

SOME of Brisbane’s homeless call her “Santa”, but Sr Salvacion Bunao likes to think of herself just as a nun serving the vulnerable, inspired and challenged by the Pope.

The Franciscan Immaculatine Sister, who works alongside the Capuchins at South Brisbane, has been personally delivering food and good cheer to vulnerable members of her community, including elderly parishioners, families and the homeless, twice a week throughout the pandemic.

She said the ministry was a response to feedback from their elderly parishioners, who were feeling isolated because of the strict social isolation measures in place at the beginning of the pandemic.

Many of the elderly had been attending another ministry of the South Brisbane parish, which provides guests with a free meal.

“Originally we started this five years ago for the St Francis Table ministry to the elderly, but right after the lockdown we started to reach out more to our elderly parishioners, families who are really vulnerable, the homeless,” Sr Bunao said.

“The local community is really in need of more support so we said they are affected emotionally, mentally, financially, so we’re sort of giving them more love, care and compassion.”

That love, care and compassion begins with a hot meal that is made “from scratch” out of donations.

“We cook anything, with whatever providence we receive, whatever donations we receive,” Sr Bunao said.

“So out of scratch we just make a full meal for them, a main course, soup, dessert and a little chocolate for them each week.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, Sr Bunao was preparing the meals and delivering them on her own, but over the past few months has built a steady army of ten volunteers, including postulant Isaac Webb who joined the Capuchins on September 2.

Sr Bunao said more were welcome to join the team.

While the majority of her patrons are parishioners, Sr Bunao said she cooks enough food to offer the homeless a free meal during the week too.

“Once a week I drive around South Brisbane, and under the bridge or sometimes near Hardgrave Road, sometimes they’re walking around there, so whenever I find them on the street I give them something to eat,” Sr Bunao said.

Feeding the hungry: Franciscan Immaculatine Sister Salvacion Bunao, Lita Espinosa and postulant Isaac Webb with volunteers and members of the Brisbane Capuchin community.

Once a homeless person approached her for money, but Sr Bunao said she could only offer them meals.

“And they were so happy, because they said, ‘I prayed to God that someone will give me some donation so that I could buy my lunch and here you are, you give me complete meals’,” she said.

Her noticeable grey habit with Marian blue trim certainly turns heads on the streets.

Some of the homeless have nicknamed her ‘Santa’ because “they said they never had nuns before who were going around with meals”.

“And I said, ‘During this pandemic, the nuns should go out because the pope said we have to go out of our comfort zone and reach out’,” Sr Bunao said.

The ministry has had a positive effect on the community to the point that people are paying it forward to their neighbours.

“When I deliver to someone, they see to it their neighbours next door, also secures something to eat,” she said.

But it’s not just the parishioners who are being blessed.

After a Sunday morning Mass last month, Sr Bunao was greeted by a homeless man holding $40 in his hand.

She knew the man from a coffee ministry at the South Brisbane parish.

Related Stories

Brisbane adoration community sees surge in adorers, more needed

Boost to suicide prevention services as more Australians are reaching out for help

Brisbane gets small morning reprieve to inspect damages after 72 hours hard rain

“We had the coffee ministry with the Capuchins in South Brisbane, and we provided whatever he needed, warm clothing, blanket, and a coat from the Order of Malta,” Sr Bunao said.

“He was so happy that he got the help from us, and he said ‘I promised to myself that whenever I get some money I will save it and give back to you’.”

The $40 in his hand was the money he had saved to give back to the Sisters.

Sr Bunao said the ministry epitomised a quote attributed to St Francis.

“I was inspired by the thought of St Francis saying, ‘Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible’,” she said.

“It’s really inspiring that we started without knowing that it would really grow.”

For more information about the Sr Bunao’s parish ministry or to volunteer, contact the South Brisbane parish on (07) 3844 2744.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Jobless benefits to be among worst in developed countries

Next Post

Gossip is a tool of the devil to divide the Church, Pope Francis says

Emilie Ng

Emilie Ng is a Brisbane-based journalist for The Catholic Leader.

Related Posts

A Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament
QLD

Brisbane adoration community sees surge in adorers, more needed

31 March 2022
Boost to suicide prevention services as more Australians are reaching out for help

Boost to suicide prevention services as more Australians are reaching out for help

30 March 2022
Deluge: Flood waters at The Wheel of Brisbane at Southbank Parklands. Photos: Robert Falzon / Facebook
QLD

Brisbane gets small morning reprieve to inspect damages after 72 hours hard rain

28 February 2022
Next Post

Gossip is a tool of the devil to divide the Church, Pope Francis says

Townsville Catholic Education signs up for Tesla battery storage project

It's the season for saving one of Australia's quirkiest animals – the platypus

Popular News

  • Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

    Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Future First Nations teachers honoured with Rome scholarship

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview
Vatican

‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview

by Catholic News Agency
5 July 2022
0

POPE Francis has said he has no plans to resign soon and that his knee injury is...

Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

5 July 2022
Spirit of Mission: A group of young people including university students, seminarians and ministry workers present at the Xavier School of Mission held June 20 to 24. The mission school hosted guest speakers and workshops to encourage people to go out and proclaim the Word. Photo: Joe Higgins

Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

4 July 2022
Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

4 July 2022
Fr Mike Schmitz’s next podcast Catechism in a Year starts New Year’s Day

Fr Mike Schmitz’s next podcast Catechism in a Year starts New Year’s Day

4 July 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping