Sr. Faith Myende made her Final Profession at the beginning of December. Together with her, Sr. Bongiwe Xulu celebrated her Silver Jubilee in her home parish of St. Joseph Mission in Mbongolwane.
Prior to the special feast Sr. Faith made an intense preparation. She met with her Juniorate mistress weekly for classes and reflections before her final commitment. In the last days she attended an eight day retreat at the Bluff together with Sr. Bongiwe who was also preparing for her celebration of 25 years as a religious sister. When the day finally arrived, families, friends, parishioners and the sisters of the Region of St. Clare travelled to Mbongolwane to witness the celebration of the two sisters. The Eucharist was led by Cardinal Wilfred Napier, who is the Administrator of the Diocese of Eshowe. A number of the priests of the Diocese of Eshowe and the Archdiocese of Durban concelebrated. The celebration was also well attended by the Nardini Sisters.
The rite of profession took place after the homily where Sr. Faith was called forward for an interrogation by the Regional Superior. As a sign of giving of herself, Sr. Faith laid prostrate as the litany of the saints was being sung. The young sister then got up and knelt in front of the Regional Superior, Sr. Assumpta Hadebe and made her vows. She vowed to God Poverty, Celibate Chastity and Obedience for her whole life. Sr. Assumpta received her vows on behalf of the congregation of the Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus as delegated by the General Superior, Sr. Katharina Ganz from Germany who could not make it to South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sr. Faith together with Sr. Assumpta signed the formula of vows on the alter as proof of the commitment of new final professed sister. As sign of her profession she was given a ring and a wreath of flowers on her head as symbols of her devotion to Christ.
After the ritual of the Final profession Sr. Bongiwe went to the sanctuary to renew her vows to God who called to this life many years ago. She promised to continue to live a vowed life and to serve God and his people as a member of the Holy Childhood Sisters. After mass everyone was invited for a delicious meal at the tent outside the Church. Regardless of the rain the celebration was a huge success. Both of the sisters were happy on their special day and were grateful to share it with their loved ones.
Sr. Faith was born in 1993 and grew up in Estcourt, KZN in the Archdiocese of Durban. She attended primary school in Emhlungwini and high school in Drakensberg Comprehensive. She matriculated in 2010. Sr. Faith joined the Holy Childhood Sisters in Mbongolwane in April 2015 and made her First Profession in October 2018. After her profession she worked at St. Joseph CYCC for a year. She is currently studying to become a foundation phase teacher and is gaining experience as an assistant teacher at Holy Childhood School.
Sr. Bongiwe Xulu was born in Mbongolwane in 1969. She joined the sisters at the age of 21 and started assisting at Holy Childhood Pre-primary and Antonia Werr Crèche in her early stages of formation. Within those years she did part time courses in Early Education and obtained a certificate. From 2004 to 2006 Sr. Bongiwe was sent to Sacred Heart Secondary School to complete her matric. She has a passion for teaching young children and has been the principal of Antonia Werr Crèche for a very long time.
Text & Photos: Sr. Maria Machi
