Aid to the Church in Need: Peru: A new religious order of Sisters has spread to four continents

Peru: A new religious order of Sisters has spread to four continents

Posted by Press Release on 21/4/2009, 1:09 pm
Board Administrator

ACN News, Monday, 20th April 2009 – PERU

From small beginnings…

By John Pontifex

A NEW religious order which started a decade ago with just eight Sisters has now spread to four continents – making it one of the fastest growing religious movements of its kind.
Since their foundation in the Peruvian capital, Lima, in 1998, the Servants of the Plan of God have set up new communities far and wide, giving them a presence in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as Latin America.
At a time of exponential growth, the Sisters now number 130 of which 40 are novices. The average age of the Sisters is just 25.
In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, the 29-year-old head of spiritual formation, Sr Carolina Sanabria explained that the community’s popularity was down to their uncompromising proclamation of the Gospel and their very visible commitment to social action.
Sr Carolina, who joined the order in 2001, said: “The Sisters are committed to announcing God to people through the lives they lead. They are faithful to God and to the Holy See.
“That is what drew me to the order and I am sure the same is true for many others.”

(Sr Carolina Sanabria )

Speaking on a visit to ACN’s international headquarters in Germany, Sr Carolina paid tribute to the charity which has given key support to the community, funding new convents, supporting the Sisters’ training needs and helping with transport costs.
“ACN has helped since the very beginning,” Sr Carolina explained. “We are extremely grateful for the support the charity has given – and especially the prayers of the benefactors.”
The charity has helped with building noviciate houses and developing other formation work, enabling the congregation to set up communities in Angola, the Philippines as well as a base for a few Sisters in Rome.
Founded by a Peru-based lay missionary called Luis Fernando Figari, the Servants of the Plan of God work in healthcare – some Sisters are nurses – education, catechesis and other faith formation as well as work with the poor.
Sr Carolina, who stressed the importance of the habit they wear “as a sign of God’s presence”, said: “Our growth as a community of Sisters is because we have a lot of confidence in God.
“It is not the case that young girls and women aren’t being called to be Sisters.
“It’s more that people are not answering their call – they are not listening to the word of God and applying it to their lives.”
ACN Latin America projects’ chief Xavier Legorreta, who has travelled widely in Peru working with bishops and religious superiors, said: “The Servants of the Plan of God have grown very rapidly, which is remarkable at a time of huge difficulties for many religious communities.
“Their priority is faithfulness to the Church, loyalty to the Holy See and a willingness to preach the Gospel both in season and out of season. In that way they are very impressive.
“And you can see from how much they’ve done in such a short period of time that they are serious in their intent and are richly deserving of the prayers and support of ACN’s benefactors.”

Editor’s Notes:

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 140 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 45 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.
For more information, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: [url=http://www.aidtochurch.org ]www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org