Sisters of Notre Dame begin their first mission in Central America
The idea for a mission in Nicaragua began in July of 2005 as Sister Mary Roseanna Mellert was completing her ministry at Food For The Poor in Deerfield Beach, Florida. When she told her supervisor that she would soon be returning to Chardon, Ohio, the supervisor asked about sister’s plans for the future. Since she had ministered previously in the Dominican Republic, Sister Mary Roseanna expressed the hope of once more being a missionary in a Spanish-speaking country. The supervisor responded with a question: Could Food For The Poor help find a place?
The next morning, Mr. Robin Mahfood, President and CEO of Food For The Poor, met with Sister Mary Roseanna. He offered to help find a place and to fund any project that the Sisters of Notre Dame might need in order to begin a ministry in Latin America corresponding to the mission of Food For the Poor, which is “to make financial, material, and spiritual resources available to people willing to participate in direct ministry of teaching, encouragement, and prayer...to bring both benefactors and recipients to a closer union with our Lord.” (Mission Statement, Food For The Poor)
A visit to Nicaragua was arranged with the help of Lilliam Argüello, manager of the American-Nicaraguan Foundation, which works in cooperation with Food For The Poor. The initial visit to four bishops and their dioceses provided helpful information for a possible mission.
On February 13, 2006, Msgr. Carlos Enrique Herrera, bishop of Jinotega, Nicaragua, wrote a formal letter of invitation to the provincial superior of the Chardon Province, Sister Mary Cecilia Liberatore, for the Sisters of Notre Dame to minister in the parish of Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) in El Llano de las Tejeras. After several visits to Nicaragua by Sister Mary Cecilia and multicultural training for some of the sisters who would be first-time international missionaries, four Sisters of Notre Dame from the U.S.—three from the Chardon, Ohio province and one from the Toledo, Ohio province—went to minister in Jinotega.
Their focus is on the needs of the people, particularly for renewed catechesis, and to walk with the people of Nicaragua in their gifts and hopes, in a spirit of healing and peace, with a goal of empowering lay leadership.
