The Vice Province of West Africa of the St. Joseph of Cluny elects a new superior

The Vice Province of West Africa of the St. Joseph of Cluny sisters has elected Sr. Catherine Jarra as the new Vice Provincial Superior. Sr. Jarra, a native of Gambia succeeds Australian Sr. Ann Stevens who has been praised for coordinating the response of the Cluny sisters in the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus, among others.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in 1807 by French Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey. It has close to 3000 sisters working in over 60 countries around the world.

The Vice Province of West Africa brings together the Cluny sisters working in Sierra Leone and the Gambia, where the Sisters adopt a holistic approach in the many apostolic activities they undertake. They include: teaching, nursing, social and pastoral work, instructing adults, catering, tailoring and home management. They are also involved in catechetics, care of the hearing impaired and the vocational schools, and in the HIV/AIDS apostolate.

The Vice Province of West Africa was established in 1822, following the visit of the foundress of the Cluny Sisters that same year to Senegal, Gambia and Sierra Leone.