Trappist Sisters Chapel in Angola
Trappist Sisters Chapel in Angola
The Trappist Sisters in Nasoma Y’Ombembwa, Angola, are «pharmacists» and produce medicine for the surrounding villages. They are extremely impressive! As the community grows, the Sisters need a Chapel that would serve them to unite all their followers and local communities. Consequently we have decided to support the construction of their chapel.
History
The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (also known as “Trappists”) is a Roman Catholic contemplative religious order. It consists of monasteries of monks and nuns. They are part of the larger Cistercian family which traces its origin to 1098. As Cistercians they follow the Rule of St Benedict, so they are also part of the Benedictine family. Their lives are dedicated to seeking union with God, through Jesus Christ, in a community of sisters or brothers who bring peace in the heart of the Angolan conflict.
Source : https://www.ocso.org/
The Lady of Peace
The first foundation of Valserena, the community of Nasoma Y’Ombembwa, named the Lady of Peace, was founded in 1980. Aimed to respond to a specific request to establish contemplative life even in the heart of Africa, in Angola. A handful of women who bring peace in the heart of the Angolan conflict.
Very soon began to arrive and to persevere the first vocations. The community enlarged itself, but war and poverty prevented the realization of the project of the construction of the monastery.
Like all the Benedictine monasteries, also Nasoma Y’Ombembwa began to radiate transformation around him: the situation at times was dramatic: refugees knocking on the door were more and more numerous. It was necessary to set up cafeterias, to take care of children, often undernourished and without assistance. A school was needed for them; it was necessary to provide for the elderly and take care of the children left without family. The destroyed houses have been restructured, wells have been dug for water supply and some agricultural activities have been set up to organise the subsistence. (…)
In 2002 with the end of the war, the trappist sisters began to hope that monastery could be built as they dreamt for years. Their research for land lead them to a beautiful hill at 19 Km from the city Soke: a wide and quiet land surrounded by green nature where the sisters moved in 2003, leaving the city (…).
Source : https://www.nostrasignoradellapace.it/progetti/angola/
The project has been launched in 2003 and their dream became true!
Mission
The monastery is an expression of the mystery of the Church, where nothing is preferred to the praise of the Father’s glory. Every effort is made to ensure that the common life is in its entirety conform to the Bible, which is the supreme law… By fidelity to their monastic way of life, which has its own hidden mode of apostolic fruitfulness, monks and nuns perform a service for God’s people and the whole human race.
The project supported by The Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust
We participate to the construction of the dedicated Church for the Trappist Sisters. We will also support the development of their pharmaceutical laboratory. As it is evolving notoriously, the demand is greater than the production capacity. Today, the laboratory manufactures twenty-three kinds of products with chemical and natural active principles that can cure most of the diseases in the country (malaria, bronchitis, hepatitis, anemia, osteoarthritis, intestinal parasites, conjunctivitis and several skin diseases).