Sisters in South Africa say donors look away as they struggle to serve poor

Children play on a worn jungle gym at an outreach center in Durban, South Africa, run by the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi. (GSR photo/Doreen Ajiambo)

Catholic sisters describe collapsing ministries, growing inequality and urgent needs they say go unseen by international supporters.

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Latest Columns

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

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.

Sr. Veronica Nange Ngeh and her team carried out a vaccination outreach in the neighboring village of Mbih, Cameroon. (Courtesy of Veronica Nange Ngeh)

Serving with joy in Cameroon's remote villages

The Old Testament prophet Amos, right, is depicted in a 1533 woodcut print. (Wikimedia Commons/British Museum/Christian Egenolph)

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: What do we choose to serve?

Editors' Choice

Sr. Maritze Torres explains the "triptica," a mural taking viewers through Trujillo's bloody past (on the right), to its present marked with struggles for justice (center), to its hopeful future, filled with abundance, education, good health and good fortune. (Tracy L. Barnett)

In Focus

Colombia's 'rebel nun' has led decades of spiritual resistance against state violence

At 82, this diminutive Dominican nun has spent more than half a century defending human rights and putting words to the horrors she has witnessed as a poet, an activist, a public speaker and an organizer. 

News

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Climate activists, including religious leaders, demonstrate at the COP27 U.N. climate summit on Nov. 11, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, calling for increased funding for climate action. (NCR photo/Doreen Ajiambo)

GSR Africa correspondent wins Covering Climate Now journalism honor

Doreen Ajiambo, Global Sisters Report's Africa regional correspondent, has been honored for her reporting during last year's United Nations climate summit, or COP29.

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.

Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne bring warmth of human connection to the dying

Nestled in the serene hills of Westchester County, New York, lies a sanctuary of compassion: Rosary Hill Home. Operated by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, this haven offers free palliative care to patients afflicted with incurable cancer.

Pope praises women's religious orders for courage, generosity

Pope Leo thanked the sisters of four religious orders on Monday “for the good you do in so many countries and in so many different contexts.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Q&A with Sr. Kumiko Sakamoto, advocate for nuclear disarmament

Colombia's 'rebel nun' has led decades of spiritual resistance against state violence

Sisters in South Africa say donors look away as they struggle to serve poor

Feature Series

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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Arlington Carmelites in controversy

Fort Worth bishop takes over a Carmelite monastery and accuses cloistered nun of adultery with a priest. Discalced Carmelite Nuns say the bishop does not have authority over them and call his actions a land grab.
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Religious Life

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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.

Courtyard surrounded by open arched windows

The urgent need for systematic safeguarding in religious communities

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

Psychologist Crystal Taylor-Dietz leads the workshop "Candidate Assessment Through the Lens of Inculturality" at St. Mary's University in San Antonio Sept. 6, 2025. (GSR photo/Helga Leija)

Cultural awareness matters in assessing candidates for religious life

GSR Today - A workshop in San Antonio, hosted by the National Religious Vocation Conference, challenged members of religious life on how they assess candidates for their communities.

Community News

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INT’L DAY OF PEACE: Salesian Missions highlights educational and social programs for youth

Sept. 21, 2025
2025 theme ‘Act Now for a Peaceful World’ encourages concrete action.

Alliance to End Human Trafficking Partners with My Catholic Will to Provide Free Estate Planning Services

Brighton, MI — The Alliance to End Human Trafficking (AEHT) is pleased to announce a new partners

INDIA: Students at Don Bosco College Chapaguri have new water supply thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions

Sept. 16
Project improves overall campus hygiene and sustainability.
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Ministry

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Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne bring warmth of human connection to the dying

Nestled in the serene hills of Westchester County, New York, lies a sanctuary of compassion: Rosary Hill Home. Operated by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, this haven offers free palliative care to patients afflicted with incurable cancer.

Sr. Veronica Nange Ngeh and her team carried out a vaccination outreach in the neighboring village of Mbih, Cameroon. (Courtesy of Veronica Nange Ngeh)
Columns

Serving with joy in Cameroon's remote villages

As the administrator of three health centers in rural Cameroon, Sr. Veronica Nange Ngeh strives to keep her joy despite difficulties.

Sr. Nguyen Thi Son and others attend the Lunar New Year 2025 celebration with the Lovers of the Holy Cross sisters at the motherhouse in Hanoi. (Courtesy of LHC sisters)
Columns

Exaltation of the Cross also exalts God's people

The Lovers of the Holy Cross sisters — and all Christians — have a responsibility to become the extended hands, hearts, minds, mouth and feet of Jesus to continue His salvific mission. 

50th anniversary celebration of Seton canonization highlights new 'Saints on Their Way'

As the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton marked the 50th anniversary of the 1975 canonization of its namesake on Sept. 14, the Emmitsburg, Maryland, campus hosted what was dubbed "A Day of Joy" as part of a three-day celebration attracting over 3,000 visitors.

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.