Statue of Annie Moore and her two brothers, Ellis Islands first immigrants

I remember years ago seeing the work of a sculptor in Cobh. It depicted a 15 year old girl with her two younger brothers heading for the emigrant ship that would bring them to the US. The girl is looking back, the older boy points to the future and the younger lad is between both….bewildered. As I left for Brazil in 1986, I felt a strange mixture of all three as I looked back at family, community and friends, looked forward eagerly to the fulfillment of a dream and yet, unsure, fragile, alone.

Brazil in the eighties was in the throes of military dictatorship and so visas for entrance in to the country were put on hold. Though I had hope to travel in 1984, my visa was not released until 1986. At last I was on my way and soon arrived in our little house in Campina Grande where a community of three Sisters lived. The mission to Brazil in 1982, was from the Sisters of Mercy of the Cashel Diocese, I joined in from the Killaloe Diocese, so I needed to adapt to different ‘Mercy’ ways as well as to life in Northeast Brazil! However, the welcome, care and encouragement from the Sisters and from the Brazilians eased me in gently. As time moved on, I was learning more and more from the and I was beginning to understand the meaning of ‘Option for the Poor’ as the mission of the Sisters, of the Church in Brazil and indeed of Catherine McAuley.

Those early years were marked by the Catholic Church’s commitment to Basic Christian Communities and Liberation Theology. At grassroots level, the team work, commitment and enthusiasm of the people, especially those in marginalised areas where we lived and worked, opened my eyes and heart to a whole new experience of a vibrant Church of the people. With orientation from a Parish team (priest, sisters and laity) the people were involved in activities from Biblical reflections, to Social and Political involvement, of belonging to and having a voice within the Church. So much from those early years will always stay with me and be very dear to my heart. The memories of that time still fill me with treasured moments and experiences of the Brazilian people that I will never forget.

Favela (Shanty Town)

The latter 22 years of my life in Brazil brought another and different experience of Brazil. now, having moved to João Pessoa, a city just an hour and a half from Capina Grande and living beside a ‘favela’ (shanty town), I began visiting and chatting with the people there, seeking to discover their interests and needs. Soon it became a shocking eye-opener to me, how women, especially in Brazil’s Northeast, are victims of a very macho society, some locked in violent situations, exploited, abused and often very alone and afraid to speak out or even participate in events in their own community. My involvement with womens’ groups, their well-being and personal growth, became my focus from then on.

Once again, I felt deeply that Catherine McAuley would have been very much at home here! I enjoyed being a companion to the women in the ‘favela’, to women in rural areas, to women who were HIV positive. It was a huge privilege to be so warmly welcomed in to their lives, to learn from their simplicity and generosity and above all to see how they blossomed in self-confidence, valuing themselves as women and believing in their contribution to society. Thanks to WhatsApp we continue to chat in the groups across the ocean!

Now back in Ireland after a difficult and painful decision-time, I think again of that sculpture in Cobh, maybe like that young woman, I am still very much looking back, missing those special people who are now so much part of my family, my community and my story. Missing greatly too, my Mercy companion of the past 20 years who now is a solo carrier of the Mercy flag in Brazil. In that sculpture, the older boy seemed enthusiastic as he pointed to the future, I am struggling to adapt to a very different Ireland, trying to adjust to this in-between time and like the younger lad in the sculpture, a bit bewildered, in a fog of the unknown.

Joao Pessoa, Brazil

I hope that I am learning to trust in this time, to seek out a new path, to read, reflect, to wait for the next step to unfold and then with thought and care take that step with hope in my heart and belief that “all will be well”.

Thank you God and Mercy for the gift of Brazil in my life.

Gabrielle Kieran rsm
South Central Province