Vietnamese sisters grow organic mushrooms to serve community and fund scholarships

Sr. Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa checks the reishi mushrooms in the growing house she and Sr. Agathe Tran Thi Mong Huyen operate at their St. Paul de Chartres convent in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This mushroom variety needs six months to grow before harvest. (Courtesy of Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa)

They use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Waste is reused. Damaged mushrooms are dried and ground into seasoning powder.

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Women meet at the Tabana Bedouin camp near Al-Azariyeh, in the West Bank, for a "Threads of Peace" embroidery workshop on Feb. 28, 2026, as part of the Comboni sisters' accompaniment of Bedouin communities living with daily uncertainty. Sr. Cecilia Sierra is pictured, white veil, center. The image is obscured to protect identity. (Courtesy of Sr. Cecilia Sierra)

In West Bank, families we accompany teach us to stay present, even amid sirens

"Through this daily life, we learn resilience, hospitality, and faith persevering in the face of the uncertain. The families we accompany teach us to remain present, even when the future is unclear."

Observers blow their whistles while federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations on Feb. 5, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP/Ryan Murphy)

We already have within us the hope that we need: Being a neighbor

Clouds pass over Mount Tabor in the distance in Galilee, Israel. The mount is traditionally known as the site of Jesus' transfiguration. (Wikimedia Commons/Reutmaor)

Second Sunday of Lent: God's call and the promise of transformation

Editors' Choice

Maternal health (GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo)

In Focus

Kenyan nuns fill the maternal health gap in climate-stressed regions

Across northern and eastern Kenya, prolonged droughts have stretched for years, and communities are forced to move constantly in search of water and pasture. For pregnant women, the consequences are severe.

News

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Nazareth Srs. Anice Vattukulam and Nisha Chemmanam (center) play carrom with the members of Asa Nilayam Pakal Veedu (Abode of Hope Day Home), a home for the elderly at Kallanode, a village in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, southwestern India. (George Kommattam)

In India, sisters bring laughter and healing to Kerala's elderly

"We realized that loneliness was a way of life for many," Nazareth Sr. Sheela Palamoottil said.

Sr. Immaculate Muthoni is a Kenyan sister of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis and a practicing lawyer who weaves her vowed life with legal advocacy for human rights, governance, institutional accountability and compliance. (Courtesy of Immaculate Muthoni)

Q&A with Sr. Immaculate Muthoni, practicing law in Kenya

Kenyan Sr. Immaculate Muthoni is a practicing lawyer who weaves her vowed life with legal advocacy for human rights, governance, institutional accountability and compliance.

Sr. Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa checks the reishi mushrooms in the growing house she and Sr. Agathe Tran Thi Mong Huyen operate at their St. Paul de Chartres convent in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This mushroom variety needs six months to grow before harvest. (Courtesy of Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa)

Vietnamese sisters grow organic mushrooms to serve community and fund scholarships

They use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Waste is reused. Damaged mushrooms are dried and ground into seasoning powder.

Dora D'Rozario, coordinator of the Order of Consecrated Virgins in Bangladesh, shows her Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award from Pope Leo XIV in January. (Stephan Uttom Rozario)

Bangladeshi consecrated virgin Dora D'Rozario receives papal award

On Jan. 24, the Catholic Church in Bangladesh celebrated a special Mass for Dora D'Rozario, coordinator of the Order of Consecrated Virgins in Bangladesh, after she received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vietnamese sisters grow organic mushrooms to serve community and fund scholarships

Pope warns of 'tragedy of enormous proportions' after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran

Catholics in Bangladesh urge new government to ensure women's safety, religious freedom

Feature Series

Theologians' Corner

Welcome to Theologians' Corner, where each week a different woman theologian from around the world offers a fresh reflection on the Sunday readings. Because these reflections come from diverse voices and rich perspectives, they invite readers to see the Gospel in new and deeper ways.
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Sister Advocacy at UN

Global Sisters Report is covering Catholic sisters' advocacy at the United Nations.
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LCWR 2025

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious' annual assembly will take place Aug. 12-15 in Atlanta. 
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Religious Life

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Dora D'Rozario, coordinator of the Order of Consecrated Virgins in Bangladesh, shows her Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award from Pope Leo XIV in January. (Stephan Uttom Rozario)

Bangladeshi consecrated virgin Dora D'Rozario receives papal award

On Jan. 24, the Catholic Church in Bangladesh celebrated a special Mass for Dora D'Rozario, coordinator of the Order of Consecrated Virgins in Bangladesh, after she received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award.

A burned bus is seen Feb. 22, 2026, at the site of a highway in Santa Rita Tlahuapan, Mexico, that connects Mexico City with the state of Puebla. Members of organized crime in several states put up roadblocks and carried out arson attacks after a military operation in which Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed in Tapalpa in Mexico's Jalisco state. (OSV News/Reuters/Paola Garcia)

Anxiety among some religious in Mexico after violence erupts following drug lord killing

Sisters in Mexico say they are praying for peace in their country after more than 60 people died during and after the Feb. 22 capture of a drug lord whose death sparked violence.

A slice of bread and glass of water are pictured in an illustration. "When I was in formation, I was taught to fast, especially from the things I love most at both the personal and community levels," writes Sr. Alice Nyazungu. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

Sisters reflect on how their Lenten practices have changed over time

The Life - GSR's panelists reflect on this question: "How have your Lent practices changed since you were younger or in formation? Are there new traditions, surprises or creative ways you've observed Lent over the years?"

A cross, a clay jug and a candle sit beside a note in Spanish reading, "A call…how shall I respond?" (Flight in V)
Columns

The call that remains: Vocation, encounter and journey in consecrated life

"I do not understand the call as a decision made once and for all, but as a relationship to be cultivated and renewed — a relationship that continues to unfold and transform me."

Community News

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Learn more about the Together Program

March 16 from 1 to 2 pm Central
Together is an inter-congregational community of vowed religious who are studying at Catholic The

ZAMBIA: Garden Open Community School makes improvements thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions

March 2, 2026
School grows to provide education to youth and adults.

Adrian Dominican Sisters Join Pope Leo in Appealing for a Halt to the Spiral of Violence in the Middle East

March 3, 2026
March 3, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of Adrian Dominica
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Ministry

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Women meet at the Tabana Bedouin camp near Al-Azariyeh, in the West Bank, for a "Threads of Peace" embroidery workshop on Feb. 28, 2026, as part of the Comboni sisters' accompaniment of Bedouin communities living with daily uncertainty. Sr. Cecilia Sierra is pictured, white veil, center. The image is obscured to protect identity. (Courtesy of Sr. Cecilia Sierra)
Columns

In West Bank, families we accompany teach us to stay present, even amid sirens

"Through this daily life, we learn resilience, hospitality, and faith persevering in the face of the uncertain. The families we accompany teach us to remain present, even when the future is unclear."

Basilian Sr. Anna Andrusiv, right, who arrived in Jenkintown in September after taking final vows in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in August, speaks to Ihor Kozak, 40, a Ukrainian soldier undergoing medical treatment at the University of Pennsylvania hospitals. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)

'It is my duty': Amputee Ukrainian soldiers find support in US Basilian sisters

In a Philadelphia suburb, Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great walk beside wounded veterans of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, offering food, prayer and solidarity as the war enters its fifth year.

Sr. Marie Magdalene Duong Thi Nguyet of the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception listens to high-risk individuals share their struggles at Kim Long Charity Clinic in Hue, Vietnam, on Oct. 11, 2025. (GSR photo)

Sisters serve on the front lines of Vietnam's shifting HIV crisis

Catholic sisters in Vietnam volunteer as nurses, counselors and emotional anchors for HIV/AIDS patients — many of whom arrive frightened, ashamed and utterly alone.

Sr. Anthonia Ibeh, a member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary Ibeh who leads the catechism class every Wednesday for two hours to inmates, poses in front of the sisters' convent in Benin City, Nigeria. (Valentine Benjamin)

Catholic sister leads effort to deliver support and hope to inmates in Nigeria

Sr. Anthonia Ibeh of the Medical Missionaries of Mary leads the work to offer free legal aid, social support, rehabilitation and spiritual care to inmates, many of whom are legally innocent and still awaiting trial.

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.