Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is lending a helping hand after a gang of armed robbers broke into a convent in Tanzania and attacked an elderly nun with a machete.
Armed with knives, guns and sticks, the group of 25 broke into the Monastery of St. Mary of the Angels in Mwanza and hit Sr. Mary Noel on the head with the flat side of a machete and repeatedly hit her back. The attackers also beat up workers at the Poor Clares’ convent and four elderly women cared for by the Sisters, stealing money and mobile phones.
Police in the south-east African country were called to the monastery but nobody was caught. But within the following 48 hours at least a dozen people were arrested and put in custody. The incident left the Sisters vulnerable to further attack with at least eight doors damaged or destroyed in the incident.
Within days of the atrocity, Sr. Mary Assumpta, the abbess in charge of the 45 nuns at the monastery, appealed to ACN for immediate help to replace the doors. In response, the charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians dispatched urgent aid of $2,200.
In her letter appealing for help, Abbess Assumpta wrote, “When the attackers came, Sr. Noel was not afraid. She told us: ‘God has given the courage.’” The abbess went on to describe how, moments after Sr. Noel was attacked, other nuns arrived and “implored with all their strength for God’s help.”
In another letter thanking ACN for its support, the Abbess wrote: “Your support is an encouragement and such a help, invigorating our apostolate and service for the Church, especially when we are passing through these difficult days.” The incident coincided with an $8,300 grant from ACN for a solar system providing electricity for the convent.
Sr. Noel’s current condition is unknown. The latest reports say that the Sisters were traumatized by the ordeal but are slowly recovering.
