On Friday, March 11th, the General Chapter of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM) elected 3 Sisters to serve as the Council for the Congregational Leader, Sr Georgeanne Marie Donovan. They are Sisters Judith Moore, Euphrasie Mukamana, and Cristina Giustozzi.
Here is some information about the newly elected Congregational Leader and her Council:
Sister Georgeanne Marie Donovan is from the United States. She made her novitiate in Bedford, Massachusetts and made her first vows there in 1970. She was soon missioned to Jamaica, were she served for 24 years, first in the Hansen Home for victims of leprosy in Spanish Town, then for many years in pastoral ministry and diocesan administration in the diocese of Montego Bay. Returning to the USA, she served in the administration of the Province and was the Provincial Leader from 2002 to 2006. Afterwards she was appointed chancellor in the diocese of San Bernardino, California. At the General Chapter of 2008 in Rome she was elected Congregational Leader. Last week, on March 9th, 2016, she was elected for a second seven-year term.
Sister Judith Moore is from New Zealand, and made her first vows there in 1966. She was missioned in Fiji for many years, and served as Regional leader there and later as Provincial Leader for the South Pacific Province (1988-96). Later she went to the Philippines and was campus minister at a University of the Marist Brothers in Lagao. She served as the Congregational Leader of our congregation from 2001-2008, and afterwards returned to Fiji.
Sister Euphrasie Mukamana is from Rwanda. She made her novitiate in New Caledonia and made her first vows there in 1997. She was a teacher in Vanuatu, and became Provincial of the former Oceania Province (New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna) in 2011. When the Region of Asia-Pacific was established in January 2014, she became its first Regional leader.
Sister Cristina Giustozzi is from Italy. She made her novitiate in New Caledonia made her first vows in 1997. She is a physician and was in charge of a clinic in Rwanda, and also served for some months in a refugee camp in Kenya. In 2011 she became Provincial of the former Eurafrica Province. In 2014 she returned to the mission in Rwanda.
We pray that this experienced and diverse team be granted every blessing in their challenging role of leading the Marist Missionary Sisters to fulfill our mission in today’s world.