Across vast swathes of Ecuador poverty and violence are making life difficult for many sections of the population. Social inequalities are becoming still more extreme, leaving many families broken and torn apart. Many people are leaving the country at the first opportunity in the hope of finding a better life elsewhere.
There are many families in need of help, and the Catholic Church is frequently the first place they turn to. The religious sisters in particular are „ministering angels“ to so many people in need.
In the diocese of San Jacinto there are 29 religious sisters, belonging to 6 different congregations. They support families in difficulty, comfort the bereaved and sorrowing and prepare the faithful for reception of the sacraments – Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and Matrimony. They also provide support and shelter for children and young people facing domestic or other violence, run soup kitchens and generally help the poor with food parcels, medicines and other necessities.
Bishop Gustavo Adolfo Rosales Escobar cannot praise the work of the sisters too highly. „Their witness, their catechesis, their home visits, care for the sick and service in the liturgy are crucial to the maintenance of the Faith“, he tells us. Especially in those places where there is no permanent priest, the sisters „hold the fort“ and are a sign that the Church is still present. Sadly there are too few priests in the diocese, and most of them have to minister to two or three parishes at the same time. There is just one priest to every 14,000 Catholics.
Two of the communities in the diocese are contemplative communities. Their convents are truly „oases of prayer“ and many of the faithful love to visit, in order to share the calm and silence, to pray and find spiritual support. Many also like to come for days of recollection, in order to withdraw momentarily from the bustle of daily life and seek the presence of God.
But the enduring economic crisis and rising living costs are hitting all these sisters hard. In fact they would not be able to fulfil their mission without outside help. And so we have promised the diocese a total of 9150 Euros for the coming year, so that these sisters can continue to offer their precious and indispensable service.
