By: Sr. Carmela Santos, SPC

Sr. Carmela Santos from the Philippines works in London, England. Here she tells us her parish ministry and some of the people she has met and learned from.

International Parish
St. Joan of Arc is a thriving and active parish in Highbury, Borough of Islington in North London. It boasts of a happy community of some 5,000 parishioners; many of whom have immigrated from several parts of the world. Most of them come from common wealth countries, Ireland and Western Europe. There are a good number of Christian, Jewish and Muslim churches in Islington but the Roman Catholic Churches are apparently the best attended.

I am Impressed
In St. Joan of Arc, as perhaps in other parishes in England, a newcomer like myself can’t help being impressed by the quality of Catholic life among many of the parishioners- a striking facet very often taken for granted by local Catholics but certainly an admirable feature worth emulating by all of us in whatever part of the world.

A few example of outstanding Catholics in the parish are particularly inspiring and worthy of mention.

Nellie Powell
Nellie Powell is a one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. She is a Londoner of French and Welsh extraction and has work all her life in schools and hospitals doing sewing, cooking, embroidery, serving meals. After over 60 years of service she was taken ill and has since then become housebound. The Sister of my community (St. Paul de Chartres) bring her Communion, offer nursing care and see to her little needs. At 88 when most elderly people sit back and expect to be waited upon by family and friends, Nellie thinks of a thousand and one way to make those around her happy. She is an excellent cook and her spic-and span-kitchen, she says, keeps her going. She is always pottering around and keeping herself busy. There is always a batch of scones or a fruit cake and other goodies ready for gardener, the post man, the window cleaner, the kindly nun who takes her blood pressure or brings her Communion. She has a whole list of birthdays of the hundred nieces, nephew grand nieces and friends. There is not a day that she does not send a little something to someone in the family or her wide circle of friends.

Widows Mite
Her church offering arrives at the presbytery every Sunday without fail. The little pension she gets being mostly spent on the church, its ministers priest and the sisters of the parish.

Life is Short...
I have read letters of appreciation and gratitude to this great lady by different employers who, over the years, have had only praise for her service and the many kindnesses she has scattered along the way. I can truly say her life can be summed up in her own words when she says: “Life is short. I just like to make people happy before I go.” A simple but profound thought from a simple and profoundly Christ-like lady.

Chris and Angie
Chris and Angie are two lovely ladies from Ireland who came to settle in London 25 years ago. Like many of the Irish people who take their faith very seriously, these young ladies have undoubtedly made the Catholic faith Center of their lives.

Secret Energy Source
Their day begins with Holy Mass and Communion at St. Joan of Arc Church; this is the driving force behind their self-giving spirit. Where girls of their status enjoy the benefits of well-paid jobs, Chris and Angie have instead given most of their energy  to voluntary works of Charity

Gratis et Amore
They have taken upon themselves the cleaning of the entire church which is by no means a small task. They see to the candles, the flowers, the hymnbook, the sacristy. They take to the church repository, which includes the ordering of articles, Sunday sales and collections. It is what we would call service with a difference because it is totally offered ‘gratis et more.’ Indeed, a service of love!

Paul and Breda
I have great admiration for Paul and Breda. They are a young couple married just five and a half years ago and have two beautiful children aged one and a half and four. It was on their wedding day, s they made their way to the altar for the ceremony, that Paul was suddenly seized with an uncontrollable shaking. Breda, thinking he was merely unduly nervous, dismissed this laughingly and thought no more of it. It was sometime later, after Paul had seen several neurologists that he was diagnosed as suffering from a severe form of multiple sclerosis.

Bound to a Wheelchair
The days that followed were intensely traumatic- a period when their love for each other was put to the test. The disease was ravaging and ruthless. Three and a half years after that fateful verdict, Paul, once an able bodied and healthy man, is now bound to a wheelchair, completely helpless and in capacitated. Breda has taken up single-handedly the full responsibility for nursing a disabled husband, keeping the house, and taking care of two lively toddlers.

Joy and Irish Humor
I visited their home one afternoon; it is far from being gloomy. The effervescent Irish humour bubbles over and laughter echoes within its walls. I was particularly struck by their undaunted spirit, the mature, unshaken faith, which I thought uncommonly joyous. There was, I noticed, not only the conspicuous absence of bitterness, but a truly Christian attitude in the face of horrendous suffering- where adversity is very often looked upon as disgracefully evil, where suffering and bitterness almost sound synonymous.

Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Paul and Breda have gone twice to Lourdes but Paul’s ailment persists. Nevertheless, they take life in stride and in matter-of –fact style get on with the business of living.

A Special Mission
Perhaps there are other miracles for Paul and Breda. Or perhaps the Lord has marked them for a special mission.
And like shining stars in God’s firmament, these beautiful people continue to enlighten, to inspire, each in his own way, each one fulfilling his own special mission on earth.

“Life is short. I just like to make people happy before I go.”