Aid for Religious

The order of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was founded in Spain in the 15th century. Today, its work is focused mainly in Latin America, while most of its convents in Europe are found in Spain. But there are also other foundations, in India and Africa.   The Conceptionists, as the sisters of the order are known, live a contemplative lifestyle of silence and prayer.   Their convent in Ipiales, in southwest Colombia, was founded in 1970. Two years prior, ...

The Republic of Moldova became independent in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is bordered by Romania on the west and Ukraine to the east, north, and south, and is among the poorest countries in Europe. Different sources put the population at anywhere between 2.5 and four million people. One reason for this discrepancy is that a significant portion of the adult population no longer live permanently in the country, and instead travel abroad to earn a ...

The Greek Catholic congregation of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Virgin Mary has 103 sisters working in 16 towns and cities in Ukraine. They run kindergartens, prepare people for the Sacraments, care for children from difficult homes; they look after the needy, the elderly, and the lonely. They take care to ensure that churches are always clean and beautifully decorated. They sew liturgical vestments and bake the Prosphora, as the altar breads are known in the Eastern Catholic Churches. They run ...

The sisters of Saint Vincent have been working in southwest Colombia since 1997. Their mission in this mountain region covers eight indigenous reserves and 36 villages. Distances are long, and the roads are difficult. Even with a car, it takes two to three hours to reach some villages. And there is only one bus a day, meaning that the sisters often have to journey for hours on foot.  The ordinary people have suffered greatly from armed conflicts, past and present, and from ...

The congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Divine Providence was founded in Nigeria in 2000. The sisters visit the sick and the elderly, caring for them and bringing them Holy Communion. They also offer practical help and advice to families and women, and are active in youth work and catechesis.  For the past 10 years, the sisters have worked in Cameroon as well. Three of them are currently stationed in the parish of Ngondzen, in a remote northern region. Only ...

The Benedictine convent of Notre-Dame de l’Ecoute was founded in 2005 in northern Benin. Originally, all the sisters were from France, but now, there are also African sisters, and there are more young women from Benin interested in the Benedictine life.  But in 2022, the sisters had to leave their monastery because it was located on the border with Burkina Faso and at risk of attack from jihadists. They were transferred to the Archdiocese of Parakou, which is further south ...

The Diocese of Cajazeiras is in northeastern Brazil, widely regarded as one of the poorest parts of the country. It faces severe droughts, and the people in this very rural area are, for the most part, impoverished.  And due to a shortage of clergy, each priest must minister to 7,000 Catholic faithful, who are scattered over a vast area. At more than 5,500 square miles, the diocese is roughly half the size of Belgium, but has only 80 priests to ...

The Missionaries of Jesus, Word and Victim are religious sisters whose special vocation is to work in poor, remote, and difficult regions with few or no priests. Their congregation was founded in Peru in 1961 and is now present in seven different countries in Latin America, including Cuba. As part of their ministry, the sisters pray with the faithful, comfort the sick and dying, baptize  children, conduct funerals and liturgies, and give catechetical instruction. They also offer practical help to the ...

In 1992, the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Joseph first arrived in Angola. Today, they have established six convents in the country and provide precious help to the needy and suffering people there. The congregation, which was founded in Germany in the 19th century, is devoted to the sick and the elderly, as well to education in mission areas. There are six sisters working in Malanje, a city in northern Angola. Their mission is a great blessing to the poor here. ...

Sister Blanca and Sister Emilia need your help. They belong to the religious family of the Salesians of Don Bosco and are devoted to the education of young people. Twelve sisters in this community currently live and work in the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco, in northern Paraguay. They care for the young; they support families and the poor; and they visit the elderly and sick. But their work is not easy. This part of Paraguay is vast, covering approximately 37,000 ...