In October, when nearly 150 sisters came together in Nairobi from across Africa for the Hilton Foundation and African Sisters Education Collaborative Convening, most of the time was devoted to exploring the future of sisters and their ministries. But before looking forward, it is essential to look back at the stories that shaped each sister. Global Sisters Report led a writing workshop in Nairobi and, here, the sisters tell their stories.

"To be a creature of God is to be brought into relationship in such a way that the divine mystery is expressed in each concrete existence."

There is little doubt that religious life will change, though no one knows what that change will bring. One place to look is at the new religious communities being formed — an act made much easier by a directory of those communities released Feb. 1.

I am gripping ski poles through fleece-lined mittens, my feet secured to cross-country skis. My arms and legs slide back and forth, propelling me forward along the trail. I have only been in these woods on this bright Saturday morning for about 10 minutes, but my warm breath is already fogging up my thick glasses.

See for Yourself - "I'm going to have a lot of cans to open," the bargain-hunter said as she placed four more cans of chicken broth in her cart in the grocery aisle where I happened to be.

"Think what would happen if there weren't any sisters, if there weren't any sisters in the hospitals, no sisters in the missions, no sisters in the schools. Think what the church would be like without sisters – no, that's unthinkable."

In the coastal village on the outskirts of Quy Nhon City, central Vietnam, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary carry on a decadeslong tradition of service to people with Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. 

In 2016, sisters at Bakhita Villa, a safe house in Lagos, Nigeria, helped rescue and rehabilitate nine victims of human trafficking. St. Louis Sr. Patricia Ebegbulem, director of the safe house, talked to GSR about her ministry, why she feels drawn to St. Josephine Bakhita, and why so many people are at risk for being trafficked today.