In the past two weeks, the Australian nun has made headlines on her fight to stay in the Philippines to help the poor and become an advocate for human rights. Her life has changed from doing projects for her missionary work to getting detained and having her visa revoked by the Philippine government. It has been a tough ride for the well-loved Australian nun. Despite all these, Sr Patricia tries to remain calm and keeps her focus on her religious duty.
Source: Facebook
Sr Patricia started her missionary work in 1990. Her congregation decided to setup a missionary activity in Asia and she volunteered to come to the Philippines. For three decades, she spent her time helping the farmers by giving them projects and teaching them about their rights.
“I love the Filipino people. There was a time when I was with the farmers who were fighting for their own land and people are telling off foreigners to go home. They defended me to stay. They said, I am not a foreigner, I am Filipino,” Sr Patricia says in an exclusive interview with SBS Filipino.
“I feel like crying, sometimes. I never expected such support from the Filipino people. It’s amazing.”
After several years of doing missionary work, she did not realise that one day she would be tagged as an undesirable alien and later on would have her visa revoked.
“It never crossed my mind. I have never been a public person. I just do what I do because I like the Filipino people. It was all a shock to me,” Sr Patricia says.
Despite what happened, she plans to continue on with her missionary work. According to her, it is part of her Christian mission to encourage people and to speak up for themselves about what is stopping them from having a dignified life.
