Catholic sisters share who or what shaped their response to ministry

Petite Lao, left, and longtime friend Samidan, a Menubu Dulangan elder and knowledge keeper, are pictured in December 2024 in Kulamana — a remote Indigenous municipality in Mindanao, now known as Senator Ninoy Aquino in the Philippines. Lao consults her friend for education about Menubu Dulangan culture, especially their dances and stories. (Courtesy of Patricia Lourdes (Petite) Navarra Lao)

Ministry is central to the life of a sister. GSR's The Life panelists respond to the question: "Who or what has shaped your response to ministry?"

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Sisters in Northern Uganda build sustainable peace with Pax Christi International

Sr. Mary Lilly Driciru has been sustainably building peace, harmony and development in rural African communities in Northern Uganda. She hopes support for this effort spreads throughout the entire country.

Sr. Ritamary Brown holds a clean birth kit at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. (Courtesy of Ritamary Brown)

The promise of life begins with clean birth kits

A group of nurses

How synodality strengthened my nursing ethics

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Courtyard surrounded by open arched windows

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The urgent need for systematic safeguarding in religious communities

Religious communities cannot claim moral authority while failing to protect their own members from harm.

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Sr. Flora Nyawira trains a group on leek onion farming. The Sisters of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd run Shalom Farm in Kitale, Kenya. (Mourine Achieng)

Sisters turning 25 acres in Kenya into a model for mixed farming

"We want to inspire small-scale farmers to maximize their farms' potential," Sr. Flora Nyawira of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd said. 

The Mines Advisory Group representatives receive the 2025 Hilton Humanitarian Prize in New York, Oct. 6. (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)

2025 Hilton Humanitarian Prize awarded to Mines Advisory Group

The UK-based anti-landmines group was honored with the 2025 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world's largest annual humanitarian award for nonprofits.

Q&A with Sr. Rosily Kolencherry, supporting tribal families in eastern India

Holy Cross Sister finds spiritual growth in ministry working for social and economically disadvantaged families for 33 years.

Petite Lao, left, and longtime friend Samidan, a Menubu Dulangan elder and knowledge keeper, are pictured in December 2024 in Kulamana — a remote Indigenous municipality in Mindanao, now known as Senator Ninoy Aquino in the Philippines. Lao consults her friend for education about Menubu Dulangan culture, especially their dances and stories. (Courtesy of Patricia Lourdes (Petite) Navarra Lao)

Catholic sisters share who or what shaped their response to ministry

Ministry is central to the life of a sister. GSR's The Life panelists respond to the question: "Who or what has shaped your response to ministry?"

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Transitions in religious life come with challenges and freedom

Transition from one ministry, community or country can be joyful, frustrating, filled with apprehension, or a mix of emotions. One has to discern what God wants and ask for the grace to embrace the changes that come with it.

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'In a time of such division and polarization, it seems important to not lose this group that are united and unified in their mission of doing good works,' said filmmaker Morgan Atkinson.

Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Loyola University men's basketball chaplain and school celebrity, sits for a portrait in The Joseph J. Gentile Arena, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Chicago. (AP photo/Jessie Wardarski, file)

March Madness icon Sister Jean, longtime Loyola Chicago chaplain, retires at 106

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Women religious are pictured in a file photo entering a church in Abuja, Nigeria. (OSV News/Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)
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Nigerian sisters grow through training in Gospel-based leadership

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Hands meeting at the center of a huddle
Columns

Sisters in Northern Uganda build sustainable peace with Pax Christi International

Sr. Mary Lilly Driciru has been sustainably building peace, harmony and development in rural African communities in Northern Uganda. She hopes support for this effort spreads throughout the entire country.

Petite Lao, left, and longtime friend Samidan, a Menubu Dulangan elder and knowledge keeper, are pictured in December 2024 in Kulamana — a remote Indigenous municipality in Mindanao, now known as Senator Ninoy Aquino in the Philippines. Lao consults her friend for education about Menubu Dulangan culture, especially their dances and stories. (Courtesy of Patricia Lourdes (Petite) Navarra Lao)

Catholic sisters share who or what shaped their response to ministry

Ministry is central to the life of a sister. GSR's The Life panelists respond to the question: "Who or what has shaped your response to ministry?"

Sr. Ritamary Brown holds a clean birth kit at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. (Courtesy of Ritamary Brown)
Columns

The promise of life begins with clean birth kits

Where a baby happens to be born should not determine his or her access to safe, clean conditions to come into the world. Every birth, every baby, is a miracle from God, and we should treat it as such.

A group of nurses
Columns

How synodality strengthened my nursing ethics

I see every patient — with their illness and struggles to pay medical bills — as a fragment of the Divine. 

GSR in the Classroom

Youth in a classroom raising their hands to answer questions

The project shines light on the mission and ministry of Catholic women religious around the world.

Each lesson connects articles about sisters or columns written by sisters to the good news found in scripture and church teaching. Action ideas and compelling prayer bring new learning alive. Teacher guides provide vital context and engaging activities to launch group discussions.