BY DAN HECKEL, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

In March 2020, more than 200 women had signed up for fiber arts classes at the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph ministry in Chillán, Chile. They were abruptly told to stay home – the COVID-19 pandemic had begun.

The Chilean government acted to curb the spread of COVID, including curfews and fines for those not wearing masks. But restricting public gatherings produced a new set of problems, ones that caused Casa Ursulina to adjust its mission once again, said Sr. Mimi Ballard, OSU, who leads the ministry. She returned to Kentucky in November to have back surgery, but plans to return to Chile this spring.

“By April 2020, a lot of people were coming to us who didn’t have anything to eat,” Sr. Mimi said. “We have so many people who live on odd jobs – like selling items on the street. There was no structure in place to help them.”

Casa Ursulina mainly teaches weaving and spinning to local women, while also offering them a sense of community and a deeper spirituality. It has always had a modest food pantry, along with clothing and a supply of adult diapers to help senior citizens. But as the ministry tried to have more food on hand, it quickly strained the budget, Sr. Mimi said. She sent a message to the various craft leaders, asking them to share with everyone in their groups that the ministry needed help.

“I was pleasantly surprised how many people came with food,” she said. “We never had to spend money on food again after April.”

In March 2021, the government made money available for every family member living below a certain poverty level, which decreased the need for the food pantry, Sr. Mimi said. But the isolation caused by COVID took a toll on people, especially older women or women living alone, Sr. Mimi said.

“I’ve never spent so much time on the phone in my life,” Sr. Mimi said. “We told them to come. We have a big space, we could be distanced. We told them they could use the sewing machines, use the spinning wheels, or just talk. … That helped them not feel so alone.”

When classes begin in 2022, some adjustments will be needed to keep everyone safe.

“We’ll have fewer classes and smaller classes,” Sr. Mimi said. “The class that has the most people is called Volunteer Workshop. It’s mostly senior citizens. They take the old clothes and pieces of material that are donated, cut them up and sew them together to make patchwork comforters. They are perfect blankets for someone who is bedfast.”

Casa Ursulina once focused on younger women who could benefit from learning a craft that allowed them to stay home with their children. Now, those children are grown, so the focus will change again, especially as COVID lessens.

“I don’t think we’ll go back to the way things were before. I think we’ll do more outreach to people who can’t come to us,” Sr. Mimi said. “Our focus is going to be more on senior citizens. I think we’ll do a lot of things in conjunction with public health services. They have a program called Independent Senior Citizens. They teach cognitive and physical exercises for seniors. They have programs, we have the space.”

Casa Ursulina opened in 1997, and this August will mark 25 years – far longer than Sr. Mimi ever expected. She first served in South America in 1978.

Now in her 55th year as an Ursuline Sister, Sr. Mimi knows that the time she remains in Chile is growing shorter. She and the community leadership have worked to secure Casa Ursulina’s future. The ministry now answers to a foundation, so it will not depend on the Ursulines for its existence. It has a board of directors, with Sr. Mimi as the president, but she plans to change that when she returns to Chile.

“I know the day will come when I have to come home,” Sister Mimi said, “but it’s not yet.”

Dan Heckel is the director of mission advancement and communications for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in Maple Mount.