Mahitsy

Mahitsy

The community of the Servants of the Visitation of Mahitsy is made up of Sisters from four different countries. The community welcomes the young women of Madagascar who wish to experience religious life as Aspirants. The charism lived by the community is expressed in various forms of apostolate: health pastoral care through the care of the sick who arrive at the dispensary, which is open every day, from early morning until afternoon. The locals consider the “Dispensary Magnificat” a reference center, because it ensures the constant presence of a nurse, basic medical visits three times a week, specialist eye and otolaryngology visits every Saturday, also a pharmaceutical service is operating daily that applies prices within the reach of even the poor. In particularly difficult cases from a health point of view or in cases of extreme social precariousness, the nurse takes charge of the situation by making home visits to patients. In the field of education, several Sisters serve at the Catholic school of the diocese of Antananarivo, the NDA school “Nôtre Dame dell’Assomption”, which is located behind the mission, teaching religion in elementary and upper classes, as well as as responsible for the bursar. In the field of parish pastoral care, both Sisters and young women in formation are inserted, with a commitment to the catechesis of young people and adults, as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, as members of the parish pastoral council, each according to its own preparation. The community accompanies, for years, a group of children who have now become adolescents, supported by benefactors who have adopted them at a distance; the Sisters take care of their health and schooling and welcome them every day for daily food. The community of Mahitsy, as it is in other countries, is also flanked by the “Custodians of the Visitation” who once a month gather to participate in the Holy Mass celebrated by the parish priest or by a parish priest in the community chapel. The Eucharistic table is always followed by fraternal agape. This coming together, lay and religious, helps the Custodes to keep alive the commitment of daily life according to the Charism of the Visitation and is an enrichment for the religious community itself.