After beginning our mission on the island of Flores in Indonesia in 2024, we are delighted to have been able to build our first mission house there. Initially, the sisters and three young women who want to join our congregation lived in a small house with the Steyler Missionaries (SVD). Father Tadeusz, a Polish missionary who has lived on the island of Flores for over 60 years and has built many facilities, schools, hospitals, and other institutions there, made this house available to us. He also helped us with the purchase of a plot of land and the construction of our mission station. This enabled the Superior General, Sr. Sybilla, and the Vicar, Sr. Petra, to stay in the newly built house and live with the small community during their visit to Flores from April 1 to 23, 2025.
The house is not large, but the sisters and candidates (there are now four) have their own small living quarters. There is a small chapel, a kitchen, a refectory, and one guest room. The grounds, on the other hand, are quite large, and further buildings are planned in the hope that the small community will grow and young women will want to join us. The sisters grow vegetables on the grounds, which is very helpful for their daily needs.
The sisters are already active in the parish. They help distribute Holy Communion, which is necessary during Sunday services, as the large church is often filled to capacity. Over 90 percent of the population of Flores is Catholic, and the people there take their faith very seriously. After Sunday Mass, the sisters also bring Holy Communion to the sick and elderly, and it is touching to see how much the people look forward to this visit. This has already helped us establish good contacts with the local people. The local residents and the parish are very happy that our congregation has started its mission here, and they are proud of it. They are open and helpful towards the sisters, so we look to the future with hope, trusting deeply that God’s blessing will accompany our small community and enable it to be a blessing for the people of Flores.
Our first house in Indonesia
