Ahead of COP31, climate disruptions in Africa force children out of school

A young herder tends livestock in Marsabit, northern Kenya, where pastoralist families depend on livestock for their livelihoods and children may help care for animals. (GSR/Abraham Fayo)

In drought-stricken northern Kenya and flood-prone areas around Lake Victoria, climate shocks are forcing children out of school. Ahead of COP31, Sr. Maamalifar M. Poreku said, "We have to measure what children lose, not only what buildings lose."

Latest News

Voices of Sisters

Editors' Choice

Sr. Indra Monterroso Padilla, of the Bethlemite Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, lights a candle with laywoman Martha Calderon at a chapel in El Paraíso, El Salvador, where women religious and laywomen gathered Sept. 12, 2026, to keep the work of the synod alive. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

In Focus

Catholic sisters and laywomen lead efforts to put synodality into practice in El Salvador

"As women, we don't walk alone; together we shape history to help other women find freedom and build community," Sr. Ivania Blandón Montenegro said. "Synodality is exactly that."

News

View all News
Sr. Lilian Ogbodu, a member of the Daughters of Divine Love Today, serves as a vocation director and works with Nigerian women after their first profession. (John Chukwu)

Q&A with Sr. Lilian Ogbodu, forming the next generation of Catholic sisters in Nigeria

"We always say that the Holy Spirit is the principal formator. We are just instruments trying to understand what the spirit and this person are doing," she said.

A young herder tends livestock in Marsabit, northern Kenya, where pastoralist families depend on livestock for their livelihoods and children may help care for animals. (GSR/Abraham Fayo)

Ahead of COP31, climate disruptions in Africa force children out of school

In drought-stricken northern Kenya and flood-prone areas around Lake Victoria, climate shocks are forcing children out of school. Ahead of COP31, Sr. Maamalifar M. Poreku said, "We have to measure what children lose, not only what buildings lose."

Sr. Brenda Hernández, of the Daughters of Immaculate Mary of Guadalupe, is the new head of the Office of Development and Holistic Health for Women Religious in Mexico. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Monday Starter: Sister to lead institute mapping health patterns of nuns in Mexico

Also: NY archdiocese join nuns' lawsuit against assisted suicide; Sisters of Charity of New York 'troubled' by bishops' photo-op with Trump.

A file photo shows a guard tower at the former San Quentin State Prison in California, which is now called San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. (OSV News/Reuters/Stephen Lam)

Catholic advocates praise Newsom's decision to commute death sentences

Catholic advocates for abolishing the death penalty praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement Nov. 5 that he is commuting all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without parole.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Handmaid Sisters save lives on Zambia's busy Lusaka-Mumbwa highway

As a migrant crisis unfolded in Ceuta, Spain's Catholic sisters answered the call

Catholic nuns' visit to Buddhist temple sparks debate in Vietnam

Feature Series

LCWR 2026

The Leadership Council of Women Religious, or LCWR, will meet Aug. 11-14 in Orlando, Florida, with the theme, "Many Charisms, One Spirit, One Call" as the organization celebrates its 70th anniversary.
READ ALL ARTICLES

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.
READ ALL ARTICLES

Sister Advocacy at UN

Global Sisters Report is covering Catholic sisters' advocacy at the United Nations.
READ ALL ARTICLES
View all Feature Series

Religious Life

View all in Religious Life
A painting of Our Lady of Sorrows is seen at the Benedictine Abbey in Staniatki, Poland, in an undated photo. The 13th-century monastery, home to one of the country's most important collections of religious and cultural treasures, is seeking support to complete a major heritage preservation project by Dec. 31, 2026. (OSV News/Courtesy of Benedictine Abbey in Staniatki)

For 800 years, they kept prayers going; now Benedictines face $1 million deadline

A community of Benedictine nuns in Poland hopes to raise $1 million to complete a preservation project at their 800-year-old abbey by Dec. 31, warning that failure could force it to repay millions in EU funding.

Two details of "Cosmovitral," a stained glass window by Leopoldo Flores in Toluca, Mexico (Photos courtesy of Ma Elena López Munguía)
Voices of Sisters

God shines through consecrated life, like light through pieces of stained glass

What if our consecrated life were a beautiful stained glass window, shaped by the profound experience of God lived by every one of us?

Sisters of the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham pose for a photo at Mary's House in Walsingham, England. (Courtesy of Community of Our Lady of Walsingham)

How England's newest community of sisters is bucking religious decline

The Community of Our Lady of Walsingham aims to tap into a new openness toward religiousness among young British people.

Sr. Mariam Gill receives an award from Pakistan's federal minister for poverty alleviation and social safety, Syed Imran Ahmed Shah, on Oct. 14, 2026, in Islamabad. (Courtesy of Christopher Sharaf)

Pakistan nuns honored with national award for healthcare, women's empowerment

Sr. Mariam Gill and Sr. Genevieve Ram Lal received the Dukhtaran-e-Pakistan Excellence Award, the first women religious in Pakistan to receive the national honor.

Community News

View all community news

High School Video Contest

Now open - February 29, 2027
High school students across the United States are invited to participate in a short video contest

INDIA: Bosco Reach Out develops, strengthens community training garden thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions

Nov. 9, 2026
Project improves food security using sustainable practices. 

Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Name New Leadership and Present Peacemaker Award to Gaza Parish

September 2026
At a gathering marked by prayer, discernment, and deep communion, the Congregation of the Sisters
SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNITY NEWS

Ministry

View all in Ministry
Delegates to the SIGNIS World Congress held Aug. 1-8 in Kigali, Rwanda (Courtesy of Sr. Rocio Garcia)

As AI reshapes media landscape, Catholic nuns offer something irreplaceable

Amid the impact of AI, reporter Chris Herlinger says GSR's coverage of the SIGNIS World Congress is very relevant. The event's speakers addressed the current media landscape with an unblinking, clear-eyed perspective.

Sr. Prisca Chuzu of the Handmaid Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary checks on traffic accident victims admitted to Nangoma Mission Hospital in central Zambia. (Derrick Silimina)

Handmaid Sisters save lives on Zambia's busy Lusaka-Mumbwa highway

Beyond the daily toll of road traffic accidents overwhelming its casualty bays, Nangoma Mission Hospital faces a growing surge in accidents due to illegal gold mining activities.

Sr. Sheeba Raja Pandian poses with a group of children during an art therapy session. (Courtesy of Sheeba Raja Pandian)
Voices of Sisters

The Indian nun with a bicycle: Healing through psychology and art in Brazil

"It was through this vulnerability that God opened my heart and allowed me to feel the collective pain, fear and chronic anxiety that the children, women and youth of Marapicu lived with every single day."

Protestant German sisters of the Sisterhood of Christ Bearers Sr. Annette Dimigen and Sr. Chris Schmotzer manage the Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Both have spent decades working with leprosy patients in the South Asian country. (Anee Muskan)

German Protestant sisters' decades-long health ministry continues in Pakistan

Founded in 1904, the Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital is currently managed by Sr. Annette Dimigen and Sr. Chris Schmotzer, Protestant German sisters of the Sisterhood of Christ Bearers.

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.