St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program

01/09/2026

Have a blessed new month of September! 🌹🙏
May Our Lady of Sorrows accompany us through every sorrow and joy, intercede for our needs and lead us closer to her Son, Jesus. May this month be filled with grace, peace and renewal. 💙✨

14/08/2026

The participants of the 27th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program have hit the ground running! Today, they took part in a workshop on group dynamics, facilitated by Sr. Thecla Ndegwa of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood.

The workshop explored the dynamics of groups and the importance of understanding how individuals relate, communicate and work together. The insights gained will be valuable not only for their life as a group during the programme, but also for their communities and ministries, where they work with, lead and serve diverse groups of people.

As their four-month journey continues, the 40 participants will take part in a range of workshops covering diverse topics, led by expert visiting and resident facilitators.

10/08/2026

On the morning of Monday, August 10, the Founder and Vision Bearer of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program, Rt. Rt.Rev James Maria Wainaina, celebrated a welcome Mass for the participants of the 27th Session, who joined the programa week ago, on August 3.

The Founder, also Bishop of Kenya's Catholic Diocese of Murang'a, warmly welcomed the participants to the 13-year-old residential program, inviting them to embrace this season of grace as an opportunity to rest, reflect on their vocations, consider the journey they have travelled, and discern what they hope it will become.

Over the next four months, the participants will engage in a range of activities designed to facilitate holistic personal development and renewal — psychologically, physically, spiritually and emotionally. These include weekly one-to-one growth facilitation, growth groups where participants explore underlying issues and support one another, multicultural group sessions that foster healthy relationships and community, as well as lectures and workshops on a range of topics.

The 27th Session comprises 40 participants drawn from 8 countries across three continents. They include 33 Priests, 6 Sisters and 1 Brother.

07/08/2026

𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

We are thrilled to announce that the 27th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program , which began on 3 August 2026, is currently underway.

This session has brought together 40 participants from eight countries across three continents. Together, they represent 17 archdioceses/dioceses and nine religious congregations, reflecting the richness, diversity and universality of the Catholic Church.

Over the next four months, participants will embark on a journey of prayer, reflection, and personal renewal. Through this residential and experiential program, they will have the opportunity to rekindle their spiritual lives, deepen their relationship with God, renew their commitment to ministry and embrace holistic personal growth.

As they begin this transformative journey, we warmly welcome all the participants to the 27th Session and assure them of our prayers and support for a grace-filled and fruitful experience.

01/08/2026

🌹 Wishing you a blessed new month of August! 🌹

May our Blessed Mother draw us ever closer to her Son, Jesus Christ. May her love, humility and faithful witness inspire us to become instruments of hope and peace wherever we are.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. ❤️🙏

17/07/2026

It is with deep sorrow and humble acceptance of God's will that we have learnt of the passing of Rev. Fr. Chrispine Oduor Okello, IMC, as announced by the Regional Superior of the Consolata Missionaries' Kenya–Uganda Region on 16 July 2026.

Fr. Chrispine was a participant in the 23rd Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program Having returned from seven years of missionary service in Latin America, he enriched the program with his profound missionary experience, pastoral insights and unwavering commitment to proclaiming the Gospel on the peripheries.

We join the Consolata Missionary family, his relatives, friends and all who knew him in mourning his passing. We give thanks to God for the gift of his life and faithful missionary witness, and we pray that the Risen Lord, whom he served with so much dedication and joy, may welcome him into eternal glory.

In his memory, we reshare the inspiring reflection below, which he shared with us during his graduation from the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program on 6 December 2024. May his words continue to inspire all who read them.

Fr. Chrispine , IMC (R) receives certificate from the Chief Guest, Very. Rev. Fr. Charles Kibe For 25 years, Fr. Chrispine Oduor Okello has devoted his life as a Consolata Missionary, spreading the Good News and bringing consolation to communities across Africa, Europe, and South America. Most recen...

10/07/2026

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞"

For 27 years, Sr. Delia Euteria Paliani dedicated herself to ministry, serving others while carrying the weight that often comes with prolonged service.

The Teresian Sister from Malawi arrived for the 26th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program carrying almost three decades of ministry and a deep sense of exhaustion.

Before joining the Kenya-based program, Sr. Paliani was lecturing at the Catholic University of Malawi, teaching educational leadership and administration, educational psychology and education policy.

"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅," she recalled in an interview ahead of her May 8 graduation from Program. However, through the program's formation sessions, growth groups and one-on-one accompaniment, she began to look inward.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉."

The experience became more than a period of rest.

"𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇," said the nun, whose vocation was inspired by witnessing the way the Teresian Sisters lived their lives.

Looking back on the sabbatical experience, she hopes more priests and religious will embrace the importance of caring for themselves before exhaustion takes its toll.

"𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉."

She also encourages priests and religious not to be discouraged by the misconceptions often associated with sabbaticals.

"𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆," she said.

For Sr. Paliani, who enjoys reading, writing, cooking and caring for animals in her free time, a sabbatical is much like servicing a car.

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆," she said. "𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍."

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐫. 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟑:
https://stjohnpaul2sabbaticalcenter.com/application/

08/07/2026

"𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮?"

As a young man growing up in Kenya's Catholic Diocese of Wote, that question lingered in Fr. Joseph Makite's mind long after a visiting priest had posed it to the congregation.

The priest, who had been sent to serve his own people after missionaries struggled with the local language, challenged young people to think about who would continue serving the Church if local vocations did not emerge.

"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚," Fr. Makite recalled in an interview ahead of his May 8 graduation from the 26th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program.

He added: "𝑰 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏? 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕."

The question stayed with him. After several conversations with the priest, coupled with time spent in prayer and discernment, he eventually left his job and wrote his application to the seminary.

The priest, who had inspired his vocation and later became one of his role models, personally delivered the application to the vocations director, marking the beginning of a journey that has now spanned 34 years of priesthood.

"𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔," he said of his vocation. "𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔."

Before joining the program, Fr. Makite was serving as a parish priest in Kenya's Catholic Diocese of Wote while also carrying the responsibilities of dean and diocesan consultant—leadership roles that demanded attentive listening, emotional understanding and pastoral care.

After decades of accompanying others and carrying the demands of leadership, he joined the 26th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program seeking what he thought would simply be time to rest. Instead, he discovered something more.

"𝑰 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅," he said. "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇."

For the Kenyan cleric, who enjoys swimming and taking long walks while praying the Rosary, the four-month residential experience reinforced an important lesson: those entrusted with caring for others must also learn to care for themselves.

"𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎."

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐅𝐫. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒆'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟑:
https://stjohnpaul2sabbaticalcenter.com/application/

06/07/2026

"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬?"

As a young girl growing up in Egypt's Catholic Diocese of Minya, that question stayed with her.

She watched sisters from Switzerland, France, Italy and Lebanon dedicate their lives to serving others. Their witness sparked a curiosity that gradually became a vocation.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏," she recalled in an interview ahead of her May 8 graduation from the 26th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program.

As her sense of vocation grew, she sought guidance from her confessor, who accompanied her through the discernment process. The sisters she encountered at school, in the parish and at church also nurtured her calling. Before entering religious life, however, she honoured her father's wish that she first complete her university education.

Thirty-eight years later, Sr. Hanaa Ishak Shoukry of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) has never looked back.

"𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓," 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. "𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎." She credits her prayer life, the witness of some of her OLA sisters and the guidance of her Jesuit spiritual director with helping her remain faithful to her vocation.

Her vocation has taken her far beyond Egypt. Over nearly four decades, she has served God's people in Nigeria, Ghana, Italy and her native Egypt, most recently as the head of a primary school with 1,116 pupils.

After 20 years of continuous ministry with little time to pause beyond annual holidays, Sr. Hanaa arrived for the 26th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program seeking time to rest, pray and reflect on her life.

"𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕. 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝑰𝑰 𝑺𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒍, 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅."

She also left with a renewed appreciation for listening — to God, to herself and to those she serves.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅."

For the Egyptian nun, who enjoys embroidery, baking and listening to music in her free time, the four-month residential experience became an opportunity not only for personal renewal but also to deepen the quality of her service to God's people.

"𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕. 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝑰𝑰 𝑺𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆."

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐫. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐚'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟑:https://stjohnpaul2sabbaticalcenter.com/application/