By Paola Moggi. South Sudan
Have you ever heard of the “Pentecost Project with and through Sisters”?
The event of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles presents a gathering of people from all over the world known by then: they were from different nationalities and cultures, and yet they could understand each other. It was an awesome moment of communication and communion.
The “Pentecost Project with and through Sisters” recalls somehow that event, but it is not an exceptional event, it is rather a process, a long-term process. It aims at developing communication passion and skills in women religious around the world, so that they can weave a network of cooperation “to witness the great works of God” carried out also through their daily works.
It was the end of 2022 when I received the invitation to join that project, and I found its name quite enticing. It was organised by the Dicastery for Communication of the Vatican, in close collaboration with UISG (International Union of Superiors General of female congregations) and with the financial support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
I enrolled by January 2023 and throughout that year I attended the “online sessions” of input and sharing.
When the first part of the project ended in September 2023, I was back in South Sudan and I proposed to share through Vatican Media a story about women religious who were promoting healing and reconciling in this war-torn Country: “South Sudan: Step by step, women of the Gospel weave peace”.
My next step of the “Pentecost project” was a gathering in Rome on occasion of the Jubilee of Communication. The conference Weaving communion through communication enabled around 80 sisters from all over the world to meet and share their very different experiences. Also an Orthodox nun was included.
I was part of a panel presenting the relevance of “traditional media” (in my case the Catholic Radio Network of South Sudan and the Nuba Mountains) in the era of Internet and social media platforms.
To many the small group of illiterate women listening to radio with a small solar-powered set looked incredible, but it is a reality in many remote areas of war-torn African Countries.
Indeed, not all parts of the world are the same, and opportunities can differ greatly.
That is why it is important for consecrated women to “meet” and to “share”, online and “onlife”. They often live in marginalised societies, and they can really enrich each other and get inspiration on how to overcome challenges through a more effective communication.
The “Pentecost Project with and through Sisters” is a process of transformation, and we wait for its next step!