The Life panelists are a group of 20 sisters from across the global north and south who respond to questions about the unique, challenging and very specific lives of women religious. Click here to learn about the 2020-21 round of panelists.
This story appears in the The Life feature series. View the full series.
June 23, 2017
GSR Today - We're launching a new monthly series called The Life. Sisters from our panel of 20 across the global north and south share a universal charism rooted in diverse ministries and distinct experiences; this month, we've asked about how their communities are carrying out Laudato Si'.
by GSR Staff
June 23, 2017
"We have to find ways of living without damaging the Earth, but we have to go way beyond that to a much more creative way of relating to the whole community of life on this planet and toward a more harmonious future."
by GSR Staff
June 22, 2017
"As soon as I saw Maryknoll I said, 'There, that's something I would be interested in.' "
Mary Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan (Nguyen) is a Dominican Sister of the St. Rosa Lima congregation of the Sai Gon Archdiocese in Vietnam. After studying at universities in Vietnam and in Manila, Philippines, she worked in formation programs in Vietnam. Now, she is an English teacher for the Catholic college of the Xuan Loc Diocese in Vietnam, and a regular contributor to Global Sisters Report.
Karan Varker is a Sister of Charity of Australia. She has been a teacher in in Papua New Guinea, America Samoa and Australia, served as a principal in Australia and Samoa, and trained Catholic teachers in Samoa and the Solomon Islands. She has degrees in theology and education and a Ph.D. in spiritual companioning of Catholic school staff members, from the School of Philosophy, History and Religion at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Sarah Puls was a social worker before becoming a Sister of the Good Samaritan in Australia. She's continued her social work in a range of ministries, currently working with asylum seekers and refugees as a case worker and team leader for Jesuit Refugee Service in Sydney, and in anti-human trafficking efforts as a member of ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans.)
Regi Joseph is a Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary sister in India. She is currently a teacher in in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India. She has worked in education in city and rural areas.
Immaculata Chukwunyere is a member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus. She was a headmistress, bursar and teacher in Nigeria and Kenya before moving to the U.S. in 1999 where she has taught in predominantly minority and low-income schools. She now teaches English in a suburban high school in Hopkins, South Carolina. Chukwunyere holds a doctoral degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction, as well as a certificate of graduate studies in qualitative research methodology.
Joeyanna D'Souza is a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of St Paul in India. She has worked with the Pauline Press in binding, writing and editing, and she has authored six books, one of which has been translated into Hindi. She has been managing their online and digital presence in India for 10 years and teaches catechism and theology to juniors and novices, both men and women religious. Originally from a small parish in Mumbai, she now lives in New Delhi where she is studying for a master's degree in moral theology at Vidyajyoti College of Theology.