Something special happened to Spanish model Olalla Oliveros on a recent visit to Fatima, Portugal. We don’t know exactly what it was, but we sure know what it led to. Read on.
Way ahead of the curve
ABC.net in Australia points out that even though the word “microfinance” has become quite the buzzword on the Internet lately, there are sisters who were offering low-cost loans to people in need long before it was trendy to do so.
The website recently detailed the work of Good Shepherd Microfinance, run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Australia and New Zealand.
Back in 1981 the sisters started lending their own money, interest-free, to people struggling to buy household essentials such as appliances.
“All of their advisors said ‘you'll never get your dough back,’” said Christine Nixon, chairwoman of the Good Shepherd Microfinance board of directors. “They got 98 per cent of their money back.”
The sisters now offer those loans and other financial support at 650 locations across Australia. “You can buy fridges, you can buy washing machines, you can buy a computer, you could perhaps pay for your kids to go to some excursion,” said Nixon.
One woman named Sue, who had benefited from two of the loans, told the ABC outlet that “it gives you such a boost to know there is somewhere you can go where people aren't taking advantage of you. It lifts your spirits up so much.”
Headline gold
The story of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles in suburban Chicago who are fighting the strip club next door continues to grab headlines. Surprised? We’re not.
“Love thy neighbor? Nuns sue nearby strip club over noise issues,” read the headline on one account by Fox News.
“Nuns Sue Strip Club For Playing Loud Music While They Pray,” trumpeted the Inquisitr.com.
The sisters filed a lawsuit last week against the owners of Club Allure and the village of Stone Park, alleging that the club violates zoning laws that require a 1,000-foot buffer between adult entertainment venues and places of worship.
The sisters led a group of about 40 protesters in prayer and then on a short march from the convent to the club where people spoke in both English and Spanish about how the club is hurting the neighborhood.
Can’t wait to see how this one turns out.
Quite a find
An archeological dig in Wales recently uncovered the remains of a rare medieval convent founded in 1180 AD, reports the Carmarthen Journal in South Wales.
The exact location of Llanllyr nunnery was a mystery until a team from Dyfed Archeological Trust and University of Wales Trinity Saint David found the convent, its cemetery and a Tudor mansion near Lampeter.
“Medieval nunneries like this are incredibly rare, with only one other known in Wales,” said Trinity Professor Jemma Bezant.
“This is an incredibly important site dating from the late eighth century at least and gives us an unparalleled opportunity to gather more information about monastic life.
"We know the nuns farmed sheep and cattle successfully and they would have tended mills, orchards and fish ponds. There are medieval fairs nearby . . . and they could have been trading far and wide, with coastal access only a couple of miles away at Aberaeron.
“We have already recovered fragments of sumptuous glazed floor tiles, indicating that the nunnery was lavishly built and decorated.”
The exploration team recently opened the site to the public so people could see what has been found so far.
She’s camera-ready
Another story making the rounds of religious media, in publications such as the Christian Post, is bound to hit the mainstream press soon.
Olalla Oliveros, 36, a well-known model and actress in Spain, has become a sister, joining the Order of Saint Michael.
She hasn’t said much publicly about her decision, other than to mention an “earthquake” experience a time ago on a visit to Fatima, Portugal, which somehow led her to envision herself dressed as a nun.
“The Lord is never wrong,” she has said. “He asked if I will follow him, and I could not refuse.”
Someone’s a good listener.
The Spurs’ secret weapons
Well, it’s no wonder the San Antonio Spurs just won their fifth NBC championship since 1999 by beating the Miami Heat.
During the finals, St. James the Apostle Catholic School in San Antonio, Texas posted a Facebook photo of members of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco in San Antonio wearing Spurs jerseys over their habits.
Sports website Bleacherreport.com republished the photo and a prayer written by Sr. Kathy Keane.
The prayer, in part:
“Heavenly Father, we ask your special blessings on the Spurs, Coach Pop and all their coaches. May the Spurs always play and continue to be the Best they can be . . . . Protect them from any kind of harm. May they always remember that they do well with God's help . . . we ask the Blessed Mother to help them and in Jesus' name ask God's blessing, win or lose. Amen.”
One Facebook commenter wrote: “The Spurs should invite them to a game . . . or visit with them . . . or donate a Spurs item to their school.”
We couldn’t agree more.
A Packers fan forever
The Green Bay Packers lost a fervent fan last week with the death of Sr. Isaac Jogues Rousseau, 93, who taught at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, Wisc., for 50 years.
She was born Marjorie Rousseau in Green Bay on January 13, 1921, the same year the Packers entered the NFL, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote upon her death.
“I was a Packer fan since birth,” she liked to say.
She joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1940 when she was given the name “Isaac Jogues,” but became known as “Sister I.J.”
She wore green and gold on Packer game days, prayed with a green-and-gold rosary and was known to belt out the Packer fight song, “Go, you Packers! Go!” in the college’s library.
In 2003 she was inducted into the Packers FAN Hall of Fame. She won box seats to a game at Lambeau Field and a $500 gift certificate for the team’s pro shop. But she split the $500 among friends who had helped her during health problems.
“I don't think she spent a single penny of that money on herself,” said colleague and friend Sr. Joanne Poehlman.
[Lisa Gutierrez is a reporter in Kansas City, Mo., who scans the non-NCR news every week for interesting pieces about sisters. She can be reached at lisa11gutierrez@gmail.com.]