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The fearless missionary Sister died in 2008 after a remarkable life in the service of the Lord.
GEHANDU, Tanzania — In 1987, a doughty religious sister from Bavaria called Mother Maria Stieren was driving with a group of religious sisters from her newly founded order through a small but notoriously dangerous part of the East African country on her way to one of her mission houses.
All was going as planned until Mother Maria, who founded the Mothers of the Holy Cross and Missionaries of the Holy Cross 10 years earlier, felt chest pains and needed to stop the car to get some air. Her fellow sisters warned her not to, as it wasn’t uncommon for members of the fierce Barabaig tribe, who inhabited that area, to attack passersby.
Despite this, Mother Maria was unfazed. She got out of the car and went to sit by a tree to let her heart pains subside, during which time 50-60 tribesmen from the bushes gathered around her. Local police arrived soon afterwards, as they saw a car stranded in such a dangerous place. They asked her what she was doing there, and pledged to defend her should she be attacked. But Mother Maria declined their offer of help, insisting the situation wasn’t dangerous and adding that the people were her “friends.”
Her instincts and trust in God were rewarded: The tribes people left Mother Maria and her sisters alone. In the days that followed, Mother returned to the area as she had promised, as it was located between two missions she had established.
Continued below.
How Mother Maria Stieren Converted Tanzania’s Ferocious Barabaig Tribe
GEHANDU, Tanzania — In 1987, a doughty religious sister from Bavaria called Mother Maria Stieren was driving with a group of religious sisters from her newly founded order through a small but notoriously dangerous part of the East African country on her way to one of her mission houses.
All was going as planned until Mother Maria, who founded the Mothers of the Holy Cross and Missionaries of the Holy Cross 10 years earlier, felt chest pains and needed to stop the car to get some air. Her fellow sisters warned her not to, as it wasn’t uncommon for members of the fierce Barabaig tribe, who inhabited that area, to attack passersby.
Despite this, Mother Maria was unfazed. She got out of the car and went to sit by a tree to let her heart pains subside, during which time 50-60 tribesmen from the bushes gathered around her. Local police arrived soon afterwards, as they saw a car stranded in such a dangerous place. They asked her what she was doing there, and pledged to defend her should she be attacked. But Mother Maria declined their offer of help, insisting the situation wasn’t dangerous and adding that the people were her “friends.”
Her instincts and trust in God were rewarded: The tribes people left Mother Maria and her sisters alone. In the days that followed, Mother returned to the area as she had promised, as it was located between two missions she had established.
Continued below.
How Mother Maria Stieren Converted Tanzania’s Ferocious Barabaig Tribe
