From 6 to 20 September 2023, Sr. Josephina D’Souza, Superior General, and Sr. Adelheid Scheloske, General Councillor visited our sisters in South Africa where they could also participate in the centenary celebration of the Province.
There are two communities of Pallottine Missionary Sisters in South Africa, both in the Cape Town area: St Vincent Pallotti Convent in Pinelands and St Joseph’s Convent in Montana. Both are connected to healthcare facilities that were founded by the sisters and are still functioning very well to this day. While Vincent Pallotti Hospital was sold more than twenty years ago, the sisters continue to be involved in the running of St Joseph’s Home, an Intermediate Paediatric Care facility, which is now managed by a trust. This is where the centenary celebration of the Province was held on 12 September.
There are ten sisters in the Province, who form a mixed international group. There are three South African, three Indian, two German and two Tanzanian, and both communities are interculturally mixed groups with sisters of three or four nationalities. While the two German missionaries and the South African sisters are belonging to the Province for decades, the younger sisters from India and Tanzania came to the country only since 2011. There is a challenge to create a common culture which needs to bridge not only the different nationalities and cultures, but also the age gap. However, the community spirit allows the sisters to enjoy common times of entertainment. Thus, the visitors could not only experience the beauty of the country during an outing, but also join in a South African braai in the courtyard of St. Vincent Pallotti Convent, followed by cultural performances and dances in a joyful atmosphere.
The St. Vincent Pallotti Convent had been built when the hospital was sold. Besides being the headquarters of the province, it is also the residence for the elderly sisters. However, the sisters share in the duties of the community as much as possible, be it by cooking or doing the laundry, helping with the finance management and in the sacristy. Besides many other tasks Provincial Superior Sr. Prabha distributes holy communion to patients at the hospital who are asking for the sacrament. When Sr. Josephina and Sr. Adelheid met with two of the hospital managers, they observed a good relationship between the sisters and the institution. Indeed, the hospital management would like to see more sisters helping or working there. Overall, the many different encounters have shown how much the presence of the sisters is appreciated by the people of South Africa.
The two sisters from Rome also had the opportunity to take a closer look at St. Joseph’s Home. It had been opened by the sisters in neighbouring Philippi in 1935. However, in 1967, the sisters felt compelled to move away from there due to the so-called Group Areas Act of the apartheid system. At that time, the area was declared black, and the sisters would only have been permitted to take in black patients. Today, St Joseph’s Home in Montana comprises the convent for the sisters, the wards for the children, a chapel, the administrative offices and other facilities of the home. There is also St Joseph’s School, a school for children with special needs, which is attended partly by children from the home and partly by children from outside. The home is run in co-operation with the Health Department. It has almost 180 beds and a team of 140 people who care for the children.
The Chairperson of the Board and the CEO shared about the running and management of the home, their challenges, concerns and plans for the future. Both, as well as other members of staff with whom the sisters met, expressed their keen interest in preserving the sisters’ legacy by caring for the children as well as possible. The visitors got an impression of the good spirit of the staff caring for the children. Some of them vividly described their joy at being able to observe the children’s development during the time they spend at the home. Often the parents and the child are in tears and despair on admission, but over the months the children begin to smile, and when they are released, the progress is obvious and reflected in the happy faces of the parents. Some of the staff also told that they are not Catholic, but belong to other Christian denominations or other religions, but still willingly offer prayers and moral support for the children and their families. In general, the home also addresses the social, educational, psychological and spiritual needs of the children in addition to providing nursing care. And it often provides more services than it is paid for, as there are many “social cases”.
When the two sisters returned to Rome, they kept many good memories of joyful encounters and of the impressive testimony of many people who cooperate in the spirit of Vincent Pallotti and thus make the love of God an experience.
Text: Sr. Adelheid Scheloske SAC
One photo is taken from St. Joseph’s Annual Report 2020.
Other photos (9): Sr. Maria Landsberger SAC and Sr. Adelheid Scheloske SAC
