STEVE PEHANICH
SISTERS
By Loretta Pehanich, a spiritual director and Catholic freelance writer who has published three books.
PHOTOS BY SISTER FELMA CEREZO, S.P.
SISTER VILMA Franco, S.P. with one of the many children in her ministry in El Salvador, her home country. The violence of the Salvadoran civil war continues to affect both young and old.
Sister Vilma’s fearless faith The courageous ministry of Sister Vilma Franco, S.P. promotes healing and faith in the very place she saw her father slaughtered.
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T’S 3 A.M. IN ARCATAO, El Salvador and Sister Vilma Franco, S.P. heads to her pickup truck emblazoned with Hermanas de Providencia (Sisters of Providence) to deter government officials from stopping her during her rounds. Under the country’s “state of exception” anyone even suspected of helping gangs risks arrest and denial of legal representation, so this Catholic sister needs to be extra careful. She’s about to drive sick villagers three hours to the hospital for lifesaving treatments. The machete under the front seat helps when a tree blocks a rainy road, and she hopes she won’t need it today for self-protection. Franco knows the dangers of simply living in mountainous territory. At 6, she saw her father murdered during El Salvador’s 12-year civil war; she escaped
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