MURPHY — St. William Church recently hosted Sister Maria of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus in Zimbabwe for a mission appeal.
The Sisters of the Infant Jesus is a congregation of women religious founded in Gweru, Zimbabwe, in 1950 with members making a vowed commitment to love and serve God and His people. They are a group of women numbering 232 professed members in more than 60 communities that now serve in four dioceses in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the United States.
The sisters work to empower women, children and the vulnerable through education, health care and social work. They are involved in pastoral ministries, teaching and nursing, as cooks, administrators and also in pastoral projects that address the needs of the poor and vulnerable – especially women and children who are orphaned or handicapped.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been in serious decline for the past 20 years and currently most organizations and industries have been forced to close. Like other organizations operating in such an environment, the sisters struggle to meet financial obligations due to limited sources of income for the order and its works. The community is financed by the income from sisters’ salaries and by grants from funding partners when they are available. This income however, falls short of the costs associated with running of the order and our commitment to help the poor and vulnerable in the remotest parts of Zimbabwe.
Learn more about the order online at www.sjisisters.org.
— Phil Roche, correspondent