The third and final morning of the SIGNIS World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, focused on the indispensable contribution of Catholic sisters to the Church and to society. Through initiatives such as the Pentecost Project and Wisdom Calls, the Church is investing in communication training to help women religious share the stories emerging from the world’s margins. Addressing participants on August 6, 2026, Sr. Jane Wakahiu, PhD, Associate Vice President of Program Operations and Head of the Catholic Sisters Initiative at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, reflected on her experience accompanying women religious around the world.
In her presentation, “Prophetic Witness in Storytelling and Amplifying the Voices of Catholic Sisters in the Public Square,” Sr. Jane focused on five themes: communication as God’s relationship with humanity, communication as a bridge, communication to provide hope, communication to center those at the margins, and communication as an act of love.“Through the Pentecost and Wisdom Calls projects, we are called to listen, and discern the way we communicate,” she said. Quoting Scripture, she emphasized that communication has its origin in God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1).“Communication, therefore, is not simply the transmission of information. It is woven into God’s relationship with humanity. It creates, reveals, calls, and gives life,” she said.
Sr. Jane also stressed that for those engaged in Catholic communications, storytelling is never merely about publicity. “It is an act of service to the Gospel. It helps people recognize God’s presence in the world and reminds us that even in times of conflict, uncertainty, and suffering, grace continues to unfold quietly, often in places the headlines never reach.”Rewriting the narrative about women religious Sr. Nina Krapić, Deputy Director of the Holy See Press Office, reflected on the representation of Catholic sisters in the media.
She called for a more authentic portrayal that goes beyond the viral images often seen on social media. While light-hearted content can attract attention, she said it should not downplay the reality of sisters’ mission as they serve in hospitals, schools, refugee communities, and places of poverty, accompanying people through some of life’s deepest struggles and greatest joys. Their daily presence on the margins, she noted, offers a wealth of experience and hope that deserves to be shared.Sr. Nina also presented the Pentecost Project, an initiative of the Dicastery for Communication that brings together a global network of sisters engaged in communications. Through professional formation and participatory journalism, the project equips sisters to tell stories from the margins alongside the people they serve.
She explained that the Wisdom Calls project likewise connects Catholic Sisters with commercial media platforms. By strengthening their voice in the media, she said, these initiatives seek to reveal the enduring witness of religious life and inspire greater solidarity with those most in need.The Congress concluded with a renewed call that Catholic sisters should not be invisible in the public sphere, and that their witness at the margins must be amplified as part of the Church’s mission of evangelization.