The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Faith has spread its charism by carrying out missionary activities in various parts of the world. For several decades, the congregation has been present in Myanmar, a country located in Southeast Asia.
Father Andrea Spegne, a missionary priest of the Faith, asked Bishop Sotero Phamo of the Diocese of Loikaw to send some girls interested in serving God. With the bishop’s consent, in 1993 three girls were sent to study theology in the Philippines and Italy. After completing their studies and formation in the Missionaries of Faith congregation, they returned to Myanmar and on August 4, 1996, they opened the first Missionaries of Faith community in St. Joseph’s Parish in Mailone, in the Diocese of Loikaw, in Kayah State. The sisters began their apostolate by offering daily prayers for the spread of the faith, in accordance with the charism of the congregation and the teaching of the Church, engaging in apostolic works such as teaching catechism, helping young people, running nursery schools, assisting priests in their apostolic works, etc. In addition, a second community was founded in the same place where the girls cultivated their vocation. It was called “St. Teresa of the Child Jesus Formation House.”
Furthermore, at the request of the bishop of the diocese and in response to the needs of the population, the SMF mission was extended with the opening of another community, the “Convent of the Faithful Virgin,” in the same parish of the village of Dosanbu, Loikaw, on June 5, 2006. This convent became the mother house of the SMF in Myanmar. Furthermore, the mission of the SMF extended to the outskirts, and on January 19, 2015, the “Convent of the Holy Trinity” was founded in the parish of Rodokho. Filled with missionary spirit, the SMF sisters in Myanmar dedicated themselves according to the needs of the Church and the charism of the Congregation in every place where they were assigned. Furthermore, responding to the needs of the Catholic Church in Myanmar, a community was also officially opened in the Diocese of Yangon in January 2016.
Regarding our mission activities, we collaborate with parish priests for apostolic works in various parishes, open colleges for the holistic formation of poor girls and orphanages, run kindergartens, care for the health of the poor, support poor students in their education by collaborating with benefactors, etc.
The SMF sisters have served God continuously in various places. However, due to the civil war, most of the communities were closed and took refuge in villages. Nevertheless, the SMF charism continued to flourish unabated, adapting our activities to the needs of the signs of the times. Yet the motto “grace and joy in faith” is alive in our being refugees.