The congregation of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and St Catherine of Siena was founded in 1914 in Colombia. Their foundress and in particular love and concern for the indigenous peoples of Latin America. Today the sisters are present in more than a dozen different countries of the continent. They also have houses in Rome and Madrid and are now present in Africa as well.

In Peru the sisters have been present for 50 years now in the diocese of Abancay, which lies in the Andes mountains, and the sisters here are ministering to the people of 49 villages, most of which are difficult to reach. Some of the villages could be reached once a week by bus, which sets off early on Monday morning, between 2 and 4 a.m. and does not return until Friday. But even then the sisters still had to walk for several hours to reach some of the other villages. Before this they even had to travel on horseback.

So the sisters turned in their need to ACN for help to obtain a vehicle that could cope with the appalling road conditions. Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we were able to provide financial help – and now they have been able to purchase a vehicle, with which they can visit the people in the villages much more frequently. The sisters ask us to pass on their heartfelt thanks to all our benefactors!