European Endeavor
Highlights from a whirlwind trip to the Czech and Slovak Republics
Sisters Frances Marie Duncan and Jeanne Marie Ulica (seated) are among those who gathered around an outdoor fire for a unique cookout during an overnight stay at the convent in Trstená, Slovakia.
Gathered outside the retreat house in Slovakia are (back row) Sisters Frances Marie Duncan, Pacifika Jusková, Livia Gardianová, Květa Vinklárková, Jeanne Marie Ulica. Margherita Faugno, Ana Maria Duran, (front row) Rafaela Zvrškovcová, Jessy Mooleparambil, Baptista Nožková and Rose Thattil.
The sisters visit with impoverished children in the Slovak village of Lomnička.
a travelogue by sister frances marie duncan
The Jurisdiction Minister’s Meeting is a time when the General Administration meets with the ministers from each of the jurisdictions to discuss areas of concern throughout the congregation. This year it was held in Slovakia from May 29 until June 4.
We gathered in Bratislava for an opening Mass on May 29 and then proceeded to a retreat center in Melčice-Lieskové, Slovakia, for the meeting. Through prayer, discussion and recreation, we were able to deepen our bonds and vision for the future of the congregation. After the business portion of the meeting was completed, we traveled to many of the convents to visit with the sisters in the Slovak Province and stayed overnight at two of the convents in Trstená and Ružomberok. At each place, we were greeted with prayers and good wishes and lots of great food.
In addition to visiting some of the homes, we also visited the Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima in Zakopane, Poland, which the people of Poland built in Thanksgiving for the return of the health of Pope Saint John Paul II after he was shot in 1981.
By far the most moving experience for me was the Gypsy camp where our sisters minister in Lomnička, Slovakia. The unbelievable poverty at the camp and the wonderful work our sisters do in ministering to the children and their families will remain long in my memory.
I was also so moved by the hospitality of our sisters and how everyone of them went out of their way to make us feel so welcome. Since I had never been to Slovakia or the Czech Republic, I arrived two days before the meetings began, along with Sister Rose Thattil from India. Sister Regina Zuk-Olszewska took us to see the grave of our foundress, Mother Frances Antonia Lampel, in Graz, Austria, and to the other two convents in Bratislava to see the sisters there.
After the meeting ended on June 4, I arranged with Sister Baptista Nožková to visit some convents in the Czech Province. In three days, I was able to see all six homes where our sisters live and minister. The first day, we stayed overnight at the convent in Brno and were met by Sister Veronika Říhová.
The following two days included visits to Hoješín, Slatiňany, the Motherhouse in Prague, Liberec and the KDM boarding house. I then traveled by bus from Prague to Vienna and spent a day and a half with my nephew, who gave me a whirlwind tour of Vienna before I boarded the plane back for the U.S.
Sister Frances Marie Duncan