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Our Daughter Foundation in Nigeria |
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Great Bend Dominican Sisters’ Mission in Nigeria, Africa ¨ Great Bend Dominican Sisters’ Journey to Africa: The Era 1952 to 1973 ¨ Gusau, Nigeria 2007: Congregation Receives Diocesan Status Sr Rita Schwarzenberger’s Current Ministry in Nigeria, Africa with Hope for the Village Child ¨ Ministry in Nigeria, 1997 to 2001 |
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Mission in Nigeria, 1992 ~ by Sr Irene Hartman At the invitation of the Dominican Fathers of St Albert Province and in gratitude for the many blessings God had given the Community in its first fifty years, the Great Bend Dominican Sisters decided to send missionaries to Africa in 1956. The pioneer group consisted of Sr Raphael Husmann, Sr Charlotte Unrein, and Sr Frances Biernacki. Today, 1992, there are six Great Bend Dominican Sisters ministering in Nigeria. Here are their stories. Sr Frances is doing what she loves best with a people with whom she fell in love back in 1956. She teaches the novices and offers spiritual counseling. Her classes include religious education, art, psychology, prayer, and spirituality. Sister prepares workshops for the novitiate members, and offers days of recollection and prayer. Sisters, priests, and lay people seek out Sr Frances for spiritual direction. In 1959, Sr Bernadette Beckermann and Sr Frances were involved in a tragic accident in Nigeria. Sr Bernadette was killed, and Sr Frances was seriously injured. After a long recovery period in the States, Sr Frances was ready to return to the missionary field, even though she took with her a stiff knee and a shortened leg. Through the power of prayer, these handicaps were eventually healed and Sr Frances continues to serve the people she loves so dearly. Sr Lillian Gehlen is the director of the novices in the native community. She plans the agenda and curriculum for the novitiate. She teaches classes on prayer and spiritual formation, and arranges for the novices to attend group studies with other congregations. As part of the spiritual development of the novices, Sr Lillian seeks retreat directors for them. She is also involved in the daily practical aspects of community. She coordinates the work of the kitchen, arranges for the novices’ transportation to Mass, purchases the personal supplies, water, and petrol for the novitiate. The newest member who ministers in the Nigerian community is Sr Jean Glach. One of her responsibilities is the spiritual formation of the sisters in temporary vows, which also includes planning for their educational needs and living situations. She is involved in distributing finances and in developing financial accountability. Sr Jean visits the temporary professed on their educational and ministerial sites, reconciles differences, and provides for on-going formation. As the Nigerian community moves toward autonomy, Sr Jean is assisting them in revising their constitutions to make it more suitable for the present Nigerian reality as a religious community in a predominately Muslim area. Questionnaires and regional meetings are part of the process. She is preparing the entire community for their first chapter in which the Nigerians will choose Nigerian members for leadership positions. The superior of the Nigerian Dominican Sisters of St Catherine of Siena is Sr Lorena Bolte, a missioinary whose home is Lawrence, Nebraska; she went to Nigeria in April, 1975. Sr Lorena is involved particularly with the Nigerian sisters who have made final vows. She attends national and regional religious meetings, and organizes or approves workshops and retreats for the professed members. She acts as liaison with Rome and with the local bishop, as well as with local government authorities. Much of Sr Lorena’s time is spent on financial matters. She writes grants, looks for sources of funding, and seeks the best rate of exchange. She distributes funds for workshops, meetings, travel, and education for the sisters with final vows. Presently, she is involved in the building of a school. Overseeing new construction and repair of living accommodations occupy much of her time and energy. One of Sr Lorena’s challenges, like that of the other five American sisters, is helping the Nigerian Community move toward independence. Sr Clara Ann Fleuch could be called the PR person for the diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria. As personal secretary to Bishop Kevin J. Aje, diocesan secretary for Sokoto, and director of the finance office, Sr Clara Ann is close to the heartbeat of 18 Nigerian diocesan priests, one Irish SMA priest, one American Dominican priest, the 42 Nigerian Dominican women, one Nigerian Dominican brother, and the five American Dominican women. She also tends to business and hospitality with ambassadors, business men, police and military personnel, lawyers, parishioners of the diocese, and Muslim friends. She counsels persons interested in religious life and couples contemplating marriage. She makes appeals to the Propagation of the Faith and other organizations for funds for spiritual development projects in the diocese. Her very packed schedule also includes the inspection of the construction site of a new church or school, hiring the builders and the painters, finding men to scout around for the cement, and locating a truck to haul the cement to the building site. Presently one of her challenges is to encourage the Nigerian priests and sisters to assume responsibility for the Nigerian church. Sr Rita Marie Schwarzenberger is Administrative Secretary for the Catholic Secretariate of Kaduna. After overseeing the newly completed arch- diocesan office complex, she uses this as her base in serving eleven dioceses in northern Nigeria. Sister’s emphasis is particularly in the areas of peace and justice issues and health services for the eleven dioceses. She is involved in writing grants and insuring that related reports are completed. She writes articles for publication on peace and justice issues, organizes workshops on AIDS, and fosters awareness of political and social justice issues. |
