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Indian nuns from Missionaries of Charity stay back in Ukraine

Sisters Rosela Nuthangi and Ann Frida from Mizoram state said they want to serve the people affected by the war
Indian nuns from Missionaries of Charity stay back in Ukraine

Missionaries of Charity Sisters Rosela Nuthangi and Ann Frida from India’s Mizoram state have decided to stay back in Ukraine amid escalating war. (Photo: supplied)

Published: March 05, 2022 06:30 AM GMT
Updated: March 07, 2022 04:23 AM GMT

The two Missionaries of Charity (MC) nuns from India working in war-torn Ukraine have decided to stay back to serve the people amid the Russian army advancing to invade the country.

Sisters Rosela Nuthangi and Ann Frida from India’s Mizoram, a Christian-dominated state in India’s northeast, have expressed their “decision to stay on in Ukraine, risking their lives to serve people fleeing the war and the injured,” said a note from regional bishop’s council.

Sister Prema, the superior general of Missionaries of Charity, contacted nuns on March 2 and asked them to move to a safer place.

But nuns told Sister Prema that they preferred to remain in Ukraine "to help the people in whichever way possible," said the note from Father Felix Anthony, the public relation officer of the North East Regional Bishops’ Council.

“The sisters have informed their relatives of their safety in spite of the challenging times,” the note said.

Sister Nuthangi is the second woman to become an MC nun from the Mizo community. She made her first religious profession in 1984 and was sent to the then USSR as a missionary.

She worked in Moscow’s St. Petersburg for 10 years and mastered Russian. She worked in Latvia, Astonovia and in 2017 she moved to Ukraine.

Sister Frida’s family is based in Mizoram’s capital city Aizawl. She became a nun in 1998 and worked in India for a few years, before being sent to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

“I am not surprised that two religious women Sisters of the missionaries of Charity who are working in the war-ravaged Ukraine are not leaving the country in spite of the great danger to their lives,” said Archbishop John Moolachira, the President of the North East Regional Bishops’ Council.

He said the nuns did not show any interest to avail the Indian government plan to evacuate its citizens, the archbishop said.

“Every consecrated person cares more for the lives of their fellow men and women than that of their own. They would consider it cowardice and unbecoming of their call to flee when the people under their care need their help, prayers and support the most,” he said.

“We hope for the safety of these two heroic nuns and let us also pray that peace and normalcy return in Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of the world,” Father Faustin said.

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