Visually-impaired religious sisters giving witness to People of God

The Sacramentine Sisters is a community of visually-impaired sisters. They lack sight, but all their other senses are actively engaged for the glory of God and the good of humanity. They engage in catechism, visit and counsel people, do farming, poultry rearing, make rosaries and knitting. “I need opportunity, not sympathy,” says Sr Mary Veronica.

The Don Orione family comprises the Sons of Divine Providence and the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity. Yet, less well-known is that within the same family there is a community of the Sacramentine Sisters, whose members are visually-impaired religious women.

The Sacramentine Sisters spend much of their day in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament but also carry out an apostolate in their local community. The institute was founded in Italy by St Luigi Orione, an Italian priest commonly known as Don Orione.

In Kenya, the Sacramentine Sisters’ community has four members: Sr Mary Carmen, Sr Mary Angelina, Sr Mary Rachael, and Sr Mary Veronica.

Apostolate and prayer

Sr Mary Veronica always wanted to be a religious sister, but struggled to find a congregation that would accept her due to her visual impairment. She was first directed to the Sacramentine Sisters by a Consolata sister in 1981, and has remained in the community to this day.

“This congregation of the visually-impaired sisters is unique and the only one in Kenya,” said Sr Mary Veronica. “Our founder, Don Orione, was a charitable person and asked us to be a mother and a sister to the poor. We offer our lack of sight to God for the brothers and sisters who do not know the truth, so that they may experience God, the light of the world.”

Though they are visually impaired, Sacramentine Sisters are contemplative and very active at the same time. They teach catechism at their parish, visit people in the nearby village, and counsel people in person and online. “In our charism as Sacramentine Sisters, we adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and talk to Jesus about humanity. We meet the people and talk to them about God’s love. We take the souls to Jesus and Jesus back to the souls,” said the religious sister.

The sisters do Adoration in turns, and engage in other community duties like farming, poultry rearing, making rosaries, and knitting as income generating activities for sustainability. “We join the congregation to give and receive; we don’t join to be helped. We try to be autonomous in all that we do,” said Sr Mary Veronica, adding: “I need opportunity, not sympathy.”

Challenges facing the community

Acquiring books written in Braille is not easy for the visually-impaired sisters. For many years they have imported spiritual Braille books from abroad. With a rise in import tariffs, the sisters are unable to receive books as they used to in the past. However, the sisters acknowledge that challenges make them complete. “We face challenges with joy, being visually-impaired does not take away our talents and abilities,” said Sr Mary Rachael.

#sistersproject

By Sr Michelle Njeri, osf