Responding to Pope John XXII’s plea to all religious to increase labors in the mission fields, three Sisters departed from Syracuse in January, 1967 to begin work in Peru. At first the Sisters staffed a school on a large sugar plantation in the village of Paramonga, but by 1976 had branched out to meet other educational, pastoral and health needs of the people in fishing villages along the Pacific coast and in mountain missions high in the Andes. In each village where they ministered they trained the local people to take over the work, so they could move into another area of need. Today we have two North American and two native Peruvian Sisters working in the Diocese of Lima and in the newly formed Diocese of Lurin just south of Lima.

Sr. Francis Clare works in an extremely poor village, Quebrada Verde, located on the South side of Lima.

Her major project here is in building St. Rose of Lima Montessori School and in preparing the teachers. The first class began with twenty -one preschool students in March, 2005. (Presently the capacity is twenty but they just couldn’t say no.)

Sr. Christina Flores works out of the Diocesan Offices in Lima as a Supervisor of Religion. She helps the Religion teachers prepare better classes. In Peru, religion is taught in all Public and Parroquial schools. Sister is a registered psychologist and donates her services in the parish. She is also Director of the Formation Program – teaching native Peruvians who would like to become Sisters.

Sr. Lastenia Paz-Reina is a nurse technician at the Naval Hospital in Lima.

The Mission Board is a group of Sisters in the United States who do fundraising and publicity for the Peruvian Missions. Each year Sisters are asked to tithe to support the Missions and a group of about fifteen Sisters participate in the Propagation of the Faith Mission Appeals in the dioceses where our Sisters work.