God’s love is global. So are we.
Our mission is to proclaim God’s love by being a life-giving, reconciling presence in our fractured world, not in just one country. Our Precious Blood spirituality inspires us to look beyond our own national borders to see the suffering of our sisters and brothers everywhere; to adopt a truly global perspective that seeks to help whenever possible — answering the cry of God’s children wherever they might be. Around the world, our sisters serve in ministries much like those we perform in the U.S. We provide help, guidance, and support from permanent locations in Latin America and emergency aid wherever needed.
International Ministries are currently in Chile and Guatemala.
Guatemalan website: adefagua.org
International Ministry: Sister Karen Elliott shares her experience in India
Sisters Rita Manriquez and Noemi Flores
Sisters of the Precious Blood began their ministry in Chile in 1957. Over the past six decades, they have served as teachers, educational administrators, catechetical leaders, youth ministers and parish leaders, among other roles. They survived the Great Chilean earthquake of May 1960, and the 1973 military junta presented unique challenges for 17 years. Then, as now, our Sisters in Chile serve their communities wherever and however they are needed, bringing the gifts of Precious Blood spirituality to their ministries and their daily lives.
Above right, Sisters Noemi Flores, Rita Manriquez, Maria Luisa Miller and Edna Hess in front of their house in Cerro Navia, Chile, April 2019; Sister Ceil Taphorn photo. Sister Maria Louisa served for 55 years, during the years 1966-2021; Sister Edna served for 31 years, during the years 1977-1990, 1992-2003, 2012-2019.
Sisters Joyce Kahle and Terry Walter
On January 7, 2007 Sister Mary Faye Hellman opened a school for indigenous women in Guatemala. She sensed the need of Mayan women to study. Their options are few and they suffer a lot of discrimination and mistreatment, especially where they work as maids in homes of the middle class. Mary Faye started with 9 women that first year. In 2020 she retired from the project, but it continues under new management and will have 38 women studying there in 2023 in middle and high school. It is called the Centro de Formación Multiple la Preciosisima Sangre. Read More
The system of studies is a Jesuit-founded Instituto Guatemalteco de Educación Radiofonica (IGER), which is a self-study program using textbooks, internet, radio programs, and tutoring. The use of that program at the CFM (Centro de Formacion…) has evolved. The teachers come for longer periods of time and teach the content of the different courses. Language and Math are especially emphasized.
When Sister Mary Faye had graduated several women from the school, Sisters Joyce Kahle and Theresa Walter were inspired to start a house, called Casa Sofia, for the high school graduates who wanted to study at the university level. In September of 2015 they returned to Guatemala (both had been there previously), rented a house in zone 16 and started receiving young women who have been studying in different fields, such as Social Work, Nursing, Education, Theology, Agronomy, and Psychology. There are currently 8 young women living at Casa Sofia and in 2023 there will be 12.
In both the CFM and Casa Sofia the young women live without cost to their families, thanks to the generous support of the Sisters of the Precious Blood and a number of donors. The women, or their families, cover the cost of most of their personal needs. Some of the women at Casa Sofia receive funds from their families to pay for their tuition at private universities. Others are working, saving up for becoming independent women in Guatemala.
During the past 2 years we have been formalizing an association, Asociación para Mujeres la Preciosa Sangre, an umbrella organization that is looking out for the future of these two projects.
We are thrilled to be graduating some of our women from the university in the coming months. We hope that their formation will enable them to be a transforming presence in Guatemala.
Above right, Sisters Joyce and Terry celebrate the “International Day of the Indigenous” with the young women of Casa Sofia in Guatemala; contributed photo.
Sister Mumbi Kigutha
Friends in Solidarity (FIS), the U.S. partner of Solidarity with South Sudan, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new president, Sister Mumbi Kigutha, CPPS. Sister Mumbi, a Sister of the Precious Blood from Dayton, Ohio, will begin her tenure with FIS in February 2023. She will be the second president of the organization, succeeding founder and president Sister Joan Mumaw, IHM. Sister Joan expressed her intent to retire as FIS president in February.
Sister Kigutha will be joining FIS as the organization continues to grow and increase its support of Solidarity. She believes strongly in Solidarity’s vision of capacity building in partnership with the Church of South Sudan and the South Sudanese people. She said, “I am very happy to be chosen to lead FIS. My educational background in business and theology coupled with many years of experiences in social sciences at the grassroots level in various African contexts will hopefully put me in good standing to succeed and flourish in this role.” Read More
Sister Kigutha brings a wealth of skills and experience to her new role, including a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a master of business administration degree, both with a marketing specialization, from the Catholic University of East Africa. Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in justice ministry from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She served as an intern with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and a consultant with the UN Population Fund before becoming a humanitarian affairs officer for the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nairobi, Kenya. Sister Kigutha has been serving as the organizing secretary of the Pan-African Catholic Theological and Pastoral Network, where she has supported its growth and development from an informal network to an organization with a nonprofit arm with more than 300 members. She has also continued to minister as a reconciliation consultant for various local and international entities including Jesuit Refugee Services.
“I welcome Sister Mumbi as the new president of Friends in Solidarity, and look forward to working with her in the new year to ensure a smooth transition for the organization and for her as the new chief administrative officer,” said Sister Joan. “We are blessed to have someone with Sister Mumbi’s experience and skills to assume this position.”
When asked what excites her most about leading FIS into the future, Sister Mumbi replied, “It gives me the space to dream, innovate and create while collaborating with fellow religious and other supporters, in journeying alongside the people of South Sudan as they shape their own future.” Sister Kigutha will begin her work with FIS with a visit to South Sudan to meet the staff and familiarize herself with the projects of Solidarity with South Sudan in February 2023.
Friends in Solidarity was founded in 2015 as the U.S. partner of Solidarity with South Sudan, an international network of Catholic sisters, priests and brothers, which focuses its ministry on building the capacity of South Sudanese to become teachers, registered nurses, midwives, sustainable farmers and pastoral agents. For more information, visit solidarityfriends.org.
Contact: Sister Mumbi Kigutha, CPPS
president@solidarityfriends.org
