(Vatican News) Sr. Ivančica Fulir, a missionary in Benin, explains the importance of telling the stories of Catholic missionaries serving all over the world. “So many good deeds remain hidden. If more people knew about them, so much more could be done.”
Born and raised in Croatia, Sister Ivančica Fulir dreamed from an early age of becoming a missionary.
“When I was just seven years old, I expressed my wish to go to Africa one day, and help the children there. But I was a sickly child, and my mother told me that I wouldn’t last two days in Africa,” she recalls.
Despite her family’s reservations, a religious sister reassured her that God protects those He sends, saying nothing bad would happen to her. That same day, Sr. Ivančica resolved that, with God’s help, she would dedicate her life to the missions.
Sr. Ivančica completed a degree in economics, and while working as a project manager helped to raise funds for the construction of an orphanage in Benin.
That opportunity led her to volunteering for nine months in Benin, where she stayed with the Sisters of Mary of the Miraculous Medal.
It was a life-changing experience. Upon returning to Croatia, she joined that Congregation, but her heart remained in Africa. After repeated requests, her superiors finally granted her permission in 2020 to return to Benin.
Serving 3,800 children in Benin
Now based in Porto Novo, Sr. Ivančica works on a program that secures funding, procures and distributes food, and oversees the preparation and distribution of hot meals to 3,800 children in five elementary schools.
She also connected benefactors from her native Croatia with the sisters in Benin to help build a third medical clinic in the village of Banigbé-Gare. Another of her apostolates includes assisting at an orphanage for girls in the village of Affame, run by religious sisters.
“In missions, there is never a shortage of work,” she says. “But when our hearts remain open to the children and people around us, God gives us incredible strength to accomplish what needs to be done.”
Missionaries must tell their stories
Sr. Ivančica understood the importance of communication for missionaries already while volunteering in Benin.
“I was shocked by how little people in Croatia knew about their own missionaries. So many good deeds remain hidden, and if people knew about them, they would be inspired to do more. As one missionary once said, ‘What is not told will remain unknown.'”
She believes that missionaries must share what they experience and feel in their hearts. “These stories encourage people to become our extended hands because we cannot do this alone. As an African proverb says: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’”
All this led Sr. Ivančica to write about missionary life, first for a Catholic magazine and then sharing her daily life in social media.
“When I went to Ukraine as a missionary,” she explains, “I saw how many volunteers were inspired to come and help simply because they read the stories.”
Social media: a powerful tool for missionaries
Stories that missionaries share offer a much-needed counterbalance to the overwhelmingly negative news in the media, according to Sr. Ivančica. “The Good News is the antidote to sadness, despair, and negativity. I try to share our daily life from a positive perspective, revealing God’s presence in our encounters and experiences.”
Although stories from missionary life often highlight suffering, she takes a different approach. “In every child, every sick person Christ is present, and often it is a suffering Christ, but the focus should not be on the suffering itself, but on the journey – with Jesus – out of hardship and into the joy of the Resurrection.”
Social medial also allows thousands of people to stay connected with the missionaries and pray for them and the people they serve: “knowing that so many are supporting us in prayer makes an enormous difference. I know I’m not alone.”
Challenges of sharing on social media
Communication is not an easy task for missionaries, says Sr. Ivančica. “It takes a lot of time, and sometimes people don’t understand, but the fruits of it make it worthwhile.”
It starts from technical challenges like frequent equipment failures due to climate conditions, power outages, and unreliable internet access. But even greater challenges arise from cultural and traditional differences between Africa and the West.
“Sometimes, when I share glimpses of daily life in Africa, I post something that Western audiences don’t understand – and they may judge it harshly,” Sr. Ivančica explains. “Ways of working, parenting, and celebrating are different here. If those differences aren’t carefully explained, they can be misunderstood and even counterproductive.”
Despite these challenges, Sr. Ivančica continues to share stories about ‘her Africa,’ bringing to light the daily reality of missionaries worldwide.
“If through the stories I share about the missionary life a single heart is touched,” she concludes, “it is a gift from God.”
