MANILA (RVA News): The Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration [SSpSAP], popularly known as Pink Sisters because of the colour of their habit, celebrated a century of presence in the Philippines with a Mass on November 25, at the Divino Amor Chapel in Lipa, Batangas.
According to Mother Maria Magdalena Krusein, SSpSAP, the congregation’s current superior general, she hopes that this milestone will lead them to live out their vocation more faithfully and “go ahead for the next hundred years.”
The Pink Sisters arrived in the Philippines on 25 November 1923, and established their first-ever community in Lipa.
A community of cloistered nuns, they dedicate themselves to a life of perpetual adoration, constantly praying for the intentions of priests and the entire Church.
One hundred years after arrving in the Philippines, the sisters gathered in the chapel in Lipa, the exact location where their Philippine mission began.
Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa concelebrated a thanksgiving Mass attended by members of several religious organisations.
Mother Krusein, a German, took the opportunity to express her gratitude to all religious friends and benefactors who continue to support their mission in the Philippines.
“As we look back today on our 100 years of presence in the Philippines, we honestly confess that this has not been possible without all of you,” she said. She also thanked the residents of Lipa for their unwavering support of their congregation.
Mother Krusein invited young people to answer God’s calling to the religious life, noting that the first Pink Sisters who arrived in the country were only in their 20s and 30s.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
“They believed in their mission. They believed that God sent them here,” said the mother superior.
“I can just encourage young people to believe that God is also calling them for a special service,” she added.
The German Father Arnold Janssen, who founded the Society of the Divine Word in 18754 and the Servants of the Holy Spirit in 1889, established the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration Steyl, the Netherlands, on 8 December 1896.
At present, the Pink Sisters have 21 convents globally, six of which are in the Philippines: Baguio, Manila, Cebu, Davao, Aklan, and Tagaytay.
