The Precious Blood Leadership Conference finds itself in the unique position this year to respond to an appeal for assistance from the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood for the education of their Sisters, especially in their African provinces. Sister Mary Paul Wamatu, CPS, contacted Sister Fran Raia, CPPS/O’Fallon, Missouri, with a description of the areas of service that the CPS Sisters cover and the need they have for education. She also sent the costs for a Sister to be trained and receive a diploma, a master’s degree and/or a doctorate. Sisters with higher education are able to obtain positions in which the salaries allow the Congregation to become more self-sufficient in the future, thus freeing other Sisters for training and ministry among the poorest of the poor.
The Precious Blood Leadership Conference has given a gift of $10,000 to the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood for the education of their young Sisters in the Province of East Africa. This unique and one-time gift was able to be given because of the change in the structure of the Conference. The gift allows the PBLC to connect and collaborate with other Congregations devoted to the Precious Blood who are not members of PBLC.
The demographics of the CPS Congregation have changed in a way that the younger Sisters are coming from countries where they do not have the financial support of Sisters who have gone before them.
“To meet the modern demands of services provided by the congregation, the Sisters need higher education,” Sister Mary Paul wrote in a letter to Sister Fran. “Education is costly, especially in countries where incomes are very low. Help(ing) the Sisters get better jobs will bring a higher income to the community so that the community can support itself in the future.”
The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood were founded in Durban, South Africa, in 1885. They number around 800 Sisters and serve 21 countries throughout the world. They work primarily in the education of women, health care and social work, as well as pastoral work, domestic work and agriculture. Among specific ministries are orphanages and homes for vulnerable children and the elderly, as well as work with street children and children with AIDS.
PBLC members include the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, Missouri) and The Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, Ohio).
— PBLC news release