By Edson Kuso
The Holy Spirit Sisters or SpSS Sisters of the Catholic Church celebrated their one-hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary since the first missionary sisters landed on the northern shores of Papa New Guinea.
Representatives of the sisters from other provinces gathered in Munumbo in the Bogia District of Madang Province to celebrate with the people of Munumbo.
The first four nuns of the SSpS order arrived on the shores of Munumbo on the 26th of March 1899 upon the request of the SVD Priests of Divine Word Missionaries.
Hundreds of people from Bogia gathered at the Munumbo primary school to witness the celebrations. The day began with a play depicting the arrival of the first missionaries.
SSpS PNG Provincial Superior Sr. Florence Utah in addressing the people thanked the people of Munumbo for giving their land to the missionaries to set up and carry out their work in Madang and on to other provinces.
The SSpS have been working alongside the SVD priests since their first arrival to set up some of the first education and health services around the country.
SVD PNG Provincial Superior Fr. Jose Oranthinkal said it was encouraging to see a lot of young people attending the celebration, as it shows that the work of the first missionaries has been fruitful.
Fr. Jose thanked the people of Munumbo for holding on to their faith and encouraged them to continue to do so.
The SSpS sisters along with the help of the SVD priests built hundreds of schools and health centres in Madang and other provinces and also established Divine Word University in Madang.
