Riga
The Dominican Sisters of Bethany came to Latvia in 1995. According to the founding charism of the Congregation, our apostolic work is focused on empowering and accompanying women in challenging situations.
In the Convent of St. Joseph, in Riga, the community consists of four sisters. There are seven female university students living with us. For many families it´s difficult to pay the university fees for their children and sometimes they are really worried to know their girls are all alone in the capital city. With us they have a safe and quiet place, to focus on their studies without being all alone. We also have a shelter for women in different crisis situations – some could be trying to find their way back into society after imprisonment; some try to discern whether to keep their unborn babies or not; some might be returning from human trafficking situations and are too ashamed to contact their families; some might need a temporary place close to the hospital in order to bring their child there for treatment every day; or any other difficult situation. The sister in charge is working together with other social workers and institutions helping women and families.
There are a lot of different apostolic activities going on. We started a Missionpoint at the Marian shrine in Aglona, some 250 kms away from our main convent in Riga, to give pilgrims a chance to stay and spend a weekend in silence and prayer. In Riga, we are visiting women in prison offering them dance therapy, medical rehabilitating massages at the medical unit, cathechesis and prayer evenigs, as well as listening to them and having a normal talk. Three times a week we are offering clothes to people in need, we preach retreats in our convent or at places we are invited to. We help to educate children by teaching them in our Sunday school and also try to answer the spiritual needs of grownups by teaching exegetical Bible courses. And we are always happy to welcome guests!