The association “Mary, gate of heaven and the small rising community”, called “Missionary Sisters of the Wounded Family”, is directed by a group of sisters who placed themselves at the disposal of what rests of the most important and fundamental cell of society: the family. The association has realized important projects to relieve the sufferings derived from the war in Bosnia where a bitter fight against the Catholic Church through the persecution of its mainstay, the family, took place. Each member of what was left over of a family was torn by the pain of persecution even if comforted, encouraged and supported not only by the Holy Father, but also by many persons of any age and social class who tried to witness their solidarity being actively present. All these innocent families were tormented by a threefold suffering: the existential pain for the loss of many relatives; the psychological pain for the even mental devastation caused by the terrifying war; last but not least, the spiritual pain as their faithfulness to the Catholic Church was tried so sorely.

So many wounded families, so many destroyed houses and so many devastated and profaned churches could only raise again in hearts that love with the love of Christ. The Missionary Sisters of the Wounded Family try to help to regain confidence in family, home, work, health and instruction stitching again the shreds of a lost identity of who suffers in the body and in the soul. The center of their interest is the family wounded by such an absurd and horrible war, fruit of human hate, that sew so much suffering, death and pain. But the will to return to life is likely to spring right from these ruins: united in the pain in order to share happiness in the future.

In this situation, the Missionary Sisters of the Wounded Family had always been present as a sorting center of humanitarian aids, food, medicine and clothes distributing wherever they were needed in Monstar and in many areas of Central Bosnia.

The philosophy of the missionary sisters of the wounded family can be summed up briefly: we don’t have anything, everyday we receive many donations and we donate everything we receive.

With this logic of free and blind trust in providence, many projects have been realized included the one promoted by the European Academy for Economic and Cultural Relations: the President of AEREC Dr. Ernesto Carpintieri and the President of Missione Futuro Onlus Dr. Carmen Seidel personally went in Bosnia in order to know closelier the reality of the Institute and to consign a load of food, medicine and indispensable articles. During their meeting, they made projects for the future concerning the assistance and the instruction of the many children of their orphanage.

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