In 1964, at the invitation of the Pope who encouraged all religious communities to send sisters to Latin America, the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville responded, with four sisters traveling to Peru.

At first, the four sisters lived at a Navy hospital in Callao, with two working at the Navy school and the other two traveling to a poor area to start a school and do parish work.

In 1987, two of the sisters traveled into the mountains to begin pastoral work with the peasant farmers.

Scroll down for our latest entry in our "Peruvian Journal."

Today, Ursuline Sisters oversee the philosophy and education at St. Angela Merici Parish School. We also:

• work with groups of women and youth to give them empowering experiences.
  
• provide leadership training with workshops on self-esteem, personal relationships, communication and organizational skills, and parenting
  
• provide classes and experiences on women’s spirituality
  
• continue to walk with the rural catechists assisting them with development projects, and providing programs that strengthen their faith and permit them to share that with others.

Ministry in Peru:

• 2 convents: Callao and Cajamarca
  
• sisters: 2 in Callao and 3 in Cajamarca
  
• Associates: 41 total in Peru

Peruvian Journal: The Ministries Move to Muquiyauyo
By Sister Sue Scharfenberger

Exactly at the time our community discerned our focusing on care of the earth and ecological sustainability, we find ourselves in Muquiyauyo, a community that lives from the fruits of the earth.  Muquiyauyo is an agricultural community.  At one time the fields were nurtured by the Mantaro River that runs through all of the state of Junín.  However, for some time now the people have not been able to rely on the river to supply their irrigation needs as the water is severely contaminated by the mines that are at the entrance to the valley.

Even our drinking water after boiling it has a large residue of crystals left from the chemicals that are used to “purify” it.  It is impossible to live here without being conscious at every minute of the need to recycle water, food wastes, and paper of any kind. 

At present we are pursuing cement cylinders (called eco-cylinders) that are being used for compost and are being promoted by the diocese as a tiny step in our efforts to “care for the earth”.  We are expecting some cylinders to be delivered tomorrow so that we can begin to participate more directly in this project and promote it with our people.

We mentioned last month the liturgy that was being planned as the official welcome and introduction of the Ursulines to Muquiyauyo.  The bishop presided over the liturgy and blessed us as he presented us to the people.  Each of us spoke, thanking God for calling us and leading us here, thanking the people for their generous and warm welcome, and expressing our hope to begin supporting and accompanying communities of faith in the pueblo. 

The most moving part of the liturgy was at the moment of offerings and the people began to carry to the altar gifts of potatoes, wheat, dried beans.  The procession seemed endless.  They were women and men, children and youth, the simplest and poorest of the town who brought their gifts to the altar.  The three of us were in tears as we experienced such generosity. 

We immediately began distributing the gifts to the soup kitchen for the elderly and the children, and then looked for the elderly living alone in our town so as to share with them the fruits of the labors of so many.  We became the channel for the solidarity of the people. 

We continue to get to know the people, meeting different groups in the diocese, learning and listening from all of them.  Yuli and Kathy have participated in the outings and retreats organized by the vicaría (similar to the deanery).  Yuli has also participated in a national congress for teachers in Catholic schools.

We spent one day with the Ursulines of the Roman Union who live approximately an hour and a half from us.  It was a wonderful visit and a great opportunity to reconnect with Angeline roots. 

Carol joined us for her birthday and Carola also spent some time with us.  It was a welcomed experience of community, of sharing, of touching that contemplative place where we all feel more connected to that burning desire to serve those in need.

We have been steeping ourselves in the message of Aparecida, which renewed the commitment of the Latin-American and Caribbean church to a preferential option for the poor.   This same conference has initiated a permanent commitment to mission, to empowering the local communities of faith to a sense of participative discipleship. 

We continue to hold all of you in our prayers and trust in yours as well.
Peace!

Yuli, Kathy, Sue

Sister Yuli is an Ursuline Sister who is from Peru and continues our mission there with the help of Sisters Sue Scharfenberger and Kathleen Neely. She visited Louisville and her fellow Sisters, getting to know those she already felt so close to. Sister Yuli recently returned to Peru. What follows are her thoughts on her time in Louisville:  

"For me it has been a great opportunity to know more of my Sisters here, the work they do and the interest that they have in sharing with others. I only want to thank them for their welcome and hospitality. Each greeting, each gesture of affection, each glance, each question and each joy have been for me a touch of God.

Being here has made me aware of knowing to what community I belong and where we are going. I know that the road for each one is different but each road, each walk, takes us to God, this God who manifests in each woman, man, child and youth, and above all how God reveals God’s self to us in loving each for us.

Sister Yuli shares hugs with another Sister

Living in community is what attracts me now. If you were to ask me years back if this attracted me I would have said “no” because it was not and is not now easy to live in community. It is a challenge each day. As my spiritual directress tells me, we shouldn’t look at this as a challenge but as a new opportunity to be in relationship, to know one another and accept one another as we are, always showing our feelings toward others.

There is a book I like very much and for me it is like a “flash”, because it animates me to continue walking and confronting life with courage and determination. Anselm Grun calls this book “The Art of Living.” In this book he says, “Who desires to be happy must become interested in life with all its trials and ups and downs.”

Sister Yuli sharing time with local children

Speaking of ups and downs, I recognize that the language has been a challenge for me. At first I felt frustrated because I didn’t understand what others were saying. Each word for me was as though I never had heard it. But that is not what was happening. It was rather that I did not want to hear. I needed to practice and recall, speak and lose the fear I had to express what I wanted. But in all of that there were many words that were new and that I was learning for the first time like: “I can do it”, “wonderful”, “lovely”, “pick you up”, “genes” (as opposed to “jeans”).

The other is the fact that I could not get from one place to the other alone. In the end I learned to take the bus and found that it was not hard at all because in Peru I do it all the time.

“If I live life with all my capacity, with my feeling; if I get involved in life, I will experience the blessedness of my own vitality.”

I share a lot in the meaning of this message. My experiences here have been of a lot of life because I have found people of other countries and other cultures. I went to English classes in a Baptist church downtown. There when I went for the first time I went with Kathy and they introduced us to the different rooms where different courses were being held: sewing, knitting, clay, computer, English for beginners and advanced, driving lessons, music, etc. Really this impressed me. And the majority of people who participated there were from Africa, India, Mexico, Perú, Colombia, Brazil. We all shared prayer at the beginning of the day, singing and praying for others. (The classes were once a week on Wednesday). Really for me this space was very special because I could identify with them and saw clearly what an ecumenical church is. But more than that was the hospitality and welcome that they gave me. In that small space God spoke to me by means of each one of them. The day of the closing ceremony that was in May they gave us certificates to all the women for the work that was learned and for what had been done. It made me think: How important it is to affirm women today in spaces like these!

My visits to the Casa Latina also are a grace for me, especially the children, and the new baby “Mateo”. It is certain and I recognize that speaking my own language of my emotions, joys and sadnesses makes me happy, as there in the Casa I could express myself freely.

Sisters Yuli and Kathleen Neely spend time with local children

Aracely is a five year old in the Casa Latina. She was an example to me of faith in the smallest and simple of heart. Many times we adults believe that we know everything, but it is not like that. Each day we learn from others. One day I asked Aracely, Do you know where a store is near here?” She told me, “Yes, Yuli! And she told me immediately where I could walk to one. I walked with her, but inside me I was doubting so much that I said to Aracely as we were walking “are we close?” and she told me, “No, Yuli! The light is in red, don’t you know?” We waited patiently and then Aracely told me, okay, Yuli, now, quickly, and we crossed the street and we continued walking and I again asked her: “Aracely, are we near?” “No! Here it is!” And there was the store! I was surprised and I said to Aracely, “you knew the way to get to the store.” She replied, “Yes, I knew because I have come with my mother and my little sister”. This story teaches me to follow and walk along side the smallest and simplest in the kindom of God. This kindom that is here on the earth.

If it is true that the kindom of God is all around us where each day we have to follow building new roads, new paths, new experiences where there are none. There is much to do, there is much to know, to go out to the streets and see our sisters and brothers who suffer. When I say this it is because I in this time have seen many faces of God who need to be affirmed, listened to, accompanied, loved even though we are afraid to draw close to them because we do not know them.

Each event, each experience lived in each opportunity in Lexington, South Carolina, Louisville, in Angela Convent, and in the Casa Latina is a part of these 150 years that Ursulines have been walking in this time. This is a great time for me to celebrate these 150 years with new experiences, new friends, new journeys, new life, and new challenges. Of course I am not the one celebrating 150 years. Rather, it is our congregation. Let us continue to celebrate each day the marvels that God has given to our lives and through others. Without others our lives do not have meaning. Thank you immensely for everything. You will be in my heart and in my prayers.

I wait and hope for many of you to come to Peru to experience and share my culture. I will be waiting! May God bless you! ~ Yuli"

Sister Yuli gathers with other Sisters

“Everywhere where there is true life, there are also footprints of blessing. However, how fewer possibilities there are to contemplate and analyze life from outside, so much less I will be able to contemplate blessing as an objective reality. The blessing is found in the one who lives, in the one who shows vitality and who whispers life with all of its meaning.”