SW News: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken the lives of three nuns belonging to the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly in Bolivia. Sr. María Hilda Arteaga Flores, Sr.  María Isabel Agip Sánchez and Sr. Asunción Bravo Rivas contracted the virus while taking care of the elderly residents of the Casa La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family House). The Bolivian Bishop’s Conference has informed that Sr. Asunción died on September 22 whilst Sr. María Hilda and Sr. María Isabel passed away on September 29.

Their funeral was held at the Cathedral of Oruro on September 29, and the Mass was presided over by Bishop Krzysztof Bialasik. He prayed for their eternal rest and acknowledged the commitment they had to their mission of tending to the needs of the vulnerable elderly.

The Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly (Hermanitas de los Ancianos Desamparados) is a congregation with pontifical right and it was founded on January 27, 1873, by the Venerable Saturnino López Novoa and Saint Teresa Jornet. Their primary charism is to constantly put to practice the Christian virtue of charity to the elderly and vulnerable, and looking after their material, emotional and spiritual needs.

The congregation currently has 2,000 religious women living in 204 houses in 19 countries. The congregation has also set up branches in Mozambique, the Philippines, Guatemala, Paraguay and El Salvador.