Sister-led church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support

Varalakshmi, a resident of Sumanahalli celebrates her birthday with her husband (left) and daughter. Claretian Fr. George Kannanthanam (right) is also present. (Thomas Scaria)

Among India's 28 states, only Karnataka employs cured leprosy patients. Congregations have been working with the state government to treat, rehabilitate, educate and ensure jobs for them, giving them dignified lives.

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Small red, pink and yellow patterns incorporated into Lourdes Munguia's weaving work done on a loom (Courtesy of Lourdes Munguia)

Learning to weave taught me how to rebuild my life, thread by thread

Horizons

The backstrap loom is the perfect metaphor for our religious life. Weaving has taught me that remaining in challenging situations does not mean staying stuck — it is about living an embodied spirituality, a new creation.

Hands meeting at the center of a huddle

Sisters in Northern Uganda build sustainable peace with Pax Christi International

Sr. Ritamary Brown holds a clean birth kit at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. (Courtesy of Ritamary Brown)

The promise of life begins with clean birth kits

Editors' Choice

Courtyard surrounded by open arched windows

In Focus

The urgent need for systematic safeguarding in religious communities

Religious communities cannot claim moral authority while failing to protect their own members from harm.

News

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Sr. Ngozi Frances Uti, far left, participates in a Commission on the Status of Women event at the Church Center for the United Nations in March. A member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, Uti heads the Centre for Women Studies and Intervention in Abuja, Nigeria, and has been a frequent attendee of U.N. events. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)

UN advocacy, sisters say, gives legitimacy to local ministries

"[We are] sort of like the watch guards of what's really going on because the nation's people sometimes just want to paint a beautiful picture about what's happening," said Sr. Durstyne "Dusty" Farnan.

Pope Leo XIV speaks on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 8, 2025, following his election during the conclave. (OSV News photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters)

Pope Leo blasts elitism, indifference toward poor in first major document

"I am convinced that the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the church and for society," the pope wrote in Dilexi Te.

Varalakshmi, a resident of Sumanahalli celebrates her birthday with her husband (left) and daughter. Claretian Fr. George Kannanthanam (right) is also present. (Thomas Scaria)

Sister-led church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support

Among India's 28 states, only Karnataka employs cured leprosy patients. Congregations have been working with the state government to treat, rehabilitate, educate and ensure jobs for them, giving them dignified lives.

Sr. Flora Nyawira trains a group on leek onion farming. The Sisters of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd run Shalom Farm in Kitale, Kenya. (Mourine Achieng)

Sisters turning 25 acres in Kenya into a model for mixed farming

"We want to inspire small-scale farmers to maximize their farms' potential," Sr. Flora Nyawira of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd said. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Sisters turning 25 acres in Kenya into a model for mixed farming

2025 Hilton Humanitarian Prize awarded to Mines Advisory Group

Q&A with Sr. Rosily Kolencherry, supporting tribal families in eastern India

Feature Series

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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Out of the Shadows: Confronting Violence Against Women

"Out of the Shadows: Confronting Violence Against Women" is a yearlong Global Sisters Report series on the ways Catholic sisters are responding to this global phenomenon.
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Religious Life

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An unidentified nun wears a crucifix and her habit at a Good Friday procession on March 29, 2024, in Guwahati, Assam, India. (Dreamstime/Talukdardavid)
Columns

In India, wearing a habit can land a nun in jail

In today's increasingly hostile environment for Christians in India — seen in the recent harassment and arrest of two nuns at a railway station — we must ask: Does visible religious attire make us more vulnerable?

Documentary on Ursuline sisters explores changing religious life in America

'In a time of such division and polarization, it seems important to not lose this group that are united and unified in their mission of doing good works,' said filmmaker Morgan Atkinson.

Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Loyola University men's basketball chaplain and school celebrity, sits for a portrait in The Joseph J. Gentile Arena, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Chicago. (AP photo/Jessie Wardarski, file)

March Madness icon Sister Jean, longtime Loyola Chicago chaplain, retires at 106

Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt, the longtime chaplain for Loyola Chicago's men's basketball team, has retired at 106 because of health concerns.

Women religious are pictured in a file photo entering a church in Abuja, Nigeria. (OSV News/Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)
Columns

Nigerian sisters grow through training in Gospel-based leadership

With the help of All Africa Conference: Sister to Sister, the training is practical and hands-on, focusing on human development, self-knowledge, team leadership, accountability, communication and nonviolence.

Community News

Ministry

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Varalakshmi, a resident of Sumanahalli celebrates her birthday with her husband (left) and daughter. Claretian Fr. George Kannanthanam (right) is also present. (Thomas Scaria)

Sister-led church-state collaboration brings leprosy-cured Indians dignity, support

Among India's 28 states, only Karnataka employs cured leprosy patients. Congregations have been working with the state government to treat, rehabilitate, educate and ensure jobs for them, giving them dignified lives.

Hands meeting at the center of a huddle
Columns

Sisters in Northern Uganda build sustainable peace with Pax Christi International

Sr. Mary Lilly Driciru has been sustainably building peace, harmony and development in rural African communities in Northern Uganda. She hopes support for this effort spreads throughout the entire country.

Petite Lao, left, and longtime friend Samidan, a Menubu Dulangan elder and knowledge keeper, are pictured in December 2024 in Kulamana — a remote Indigenous municipality in Mindanao, now known as Senator Ninoy Aquino in the Philippines. Lao consults her friend for education about Menubu Dulangan culture, especially their dances and stories. (Courtesy of Patricia Lourdes (Petite) Navarra Lao)

Catholic sisters share who or what shaped their response to ministry

Ministry is central to the life of a sister. GSR's The Life panelists respond to the question: "Who or what has shaped your response to ministry?"

Sr. Ritamary Brown holds a clean birth kit at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. (Courtesy of Ritamary Brown)
Columns

The promise of life begins with clean birth kits

Where a baby happens to be born should not determine his or her access to safe, clean conditions to come into the world. Every birth, every baby, is a miracle from God, and we should treat it as such.

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.