Nestling in the natural beauty of rural Co Wicklow, Magheramore, the motherhouse of the Columban Sisters worldwide, feels like a long way from the deserts of Peru, the extreme heat of Pakistan, and the humidity of cemetery living in the Philippines. These are some of the challenging environments where Sr. Hasuk Shin has been on mission.
What is “cemetery living?” On the eastern shore of the Filipino capital, Manila, a cemetery in Pasay City is home to both the living and the dead. The dead are registered on the tombstones. The living are a different story. Sometimes as many as three generations of a family or up to nine people, eke out an existence among these graves. Their makeshift homes have no toilets, no water and no electricity. There is no space for cooking let alone a table.
“Even though I had heard many times about the cemetery from other Sisters, living with the people is totally different. I couldn’t understand where they were sleeping, and when it rains, what happened to them. I couldn’t make sense of it. I had to get to know their situation to understand it,” Sr. Hasuk, who hails from Wonju in South Korea, explained.
“The cemetery is not a huge place, so every little bit of space is used. Beside the tomb, they make their wooden house. It is just a shelter – a bit of covering as the roof. Some of the owners of the tombs allow them to set up there. A relationship can form between the tomb-owners and the families if they clean the tomb. But they have no water, electricity or any essentials. There are two or three wells where they go to wash. They carry water from the well to the tombs to wash their dishes and clothes.”
Growing up in Korea, the third in a family of five girls, Hasuk’s background was not Christian. Her mother was Buddhist and her father “didn’t have any religion but he was not opposed to religion; he respected my Mum.” Her mother’s daily ritual of rising early in the morning, lighting a candle and saying some quiet Buddhist prayers, resonated with Hasuk. “It touched my heart.” However, by the time she got to university, she “was interested in human rights and Marxism and justice.”
Her mother converted to Christianity and this resulted in Hasuk and her sisters following her into the faith. “I was 29 I became a Christian, but when I went to church, I didn’t get much out of it. I even slept once during Mass! So I decided to go to the church at a quiet time instead. One day I just sat in a church for a while in the silence. Then I felt something around me and from that moment, I started to read the Bible. On reading the passage in St. John’s Gospel: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you’ (Jn:15:16), I was challenged. I thought I was choosing my life but He chose me – despite my resistance.”
In her early thirties, Hasuk’s faith was deepening. But she didn’t know what path to take. She happened upon a guidebook to Religious in Korea. The piece on the Missionary Sisters of St Columban caught her eye. “There was a photo of one of our Sisters who was involved in prison ministry. It dearly touched me. Even though I was 33 and late in considering a vocation, something inside me told me, ‘Never give up! Just try.’ So I tried!”
Hasuk joined the Columban Sisters in 2000. She made her First Profession in 2003 and was assigned to a HIV centre in Korea which was run by another Columban Sister. There men and women with the virus who were “very marginalised and rejected” were helped. Even today, being HIV is “taboo” in Korea. “Most people at the centre couldn’t tell their families. It was very sad. Many of them didn’t have a place to stay.”
This mission lasted two years. Then she was assigned to the parish of St Martin de Porres in Ica in Peru’s desert, along the coastline from the capital, Lima. There four Columban Sisters were the rock of the faith community. A priest only came to the parish for Sunday, otherwise the Sisters acted as catechists, ministered to the sick and elderly, and they even helped people living in shanties to build houses. “I was there for six and a half years, and I think of it as my second home. I learned from our Sisters how to be involved in pastoral work: it is not just a ministry but how to make a real family spirit.”
In 2015, Sr. Hasuk returned to Korea to do vocations promotion for three years before she went on mission to Pakistan in 2019. “I was in Hyderabad (Sindh province) for one and a half years. It was a big shock, even though I had heard how difficult it is for women. It is a male society.” However, when she asked women in Pakistan how they felt about their situation, they told her they felt respected. “I was challenged to see it differently.” The small Christian community is disadvantaged by “very strong in their faith and support each other”.
Pakistan is one of the countries feeling the effects of the climate crisis with temperatures now regularly well above 40C. Sadly, this extreme heat took a toll on Sr. Hasuk leaving her in poor health. She was forced to return to Korea after 18 months. “When I left Pakistan I felt guilty that I had failed in my mission, but I trusted that God would open another door.” And He did! In Pasay City Cemetery.
Over the past 13 years, the Columban Sisters’ Cemetery ministry there has helped some to build houses and children with the cost of going to school as well as providing parents with livelihood skills. This year, they rejoiced as four cemetery children graduated from university, including two in criminology. “We are looking for benefactors to help us maintain the feeding programmes for the children who have breakfast in the cemetery before school.” Sr. Hasuk explains that $1,000 would cover the cost of school for a year, funding uniforms, school supplies, transport to school as well as the feeding programme. She is living by her conversion message: “Never Give Up!”
