Community of the Holy Name (CHN), Lesotho Province

The Basotho Community of St Mary at the Cross was founded in Leribe, Lesotho, in 1923, under the Community of St Michael & All Angels, Bloemfontein. In 1959, CHN Sisters were invited to take over this work and started at Leribe in 1962. They had invited the Sisters of S. Mary at the Cross to become members of CHN and the full amalgamation of the two communities was completed in 1964. As a multi-racial community, the witness against racism at a time when apartheid was in the ascendant in South Africa was an important strand of the Community’s vocation. New members have joined the Community in succeeding years, and they have continued the evangelistic and pastoral work which is also an important part of the CHN vocation. Sisters are involved in children’s work, prison visiting, as well as other outreach in both Lesotho and South Africa. There is a church sewing room and wafer room. The Sisters in Leribe run a hostel for secondary school students who live too far away to travel daily. Some Sisters are ‘Volunteers of Love’ for families where there is HIV/AIDS.

This work is enabled and strengthened by the daily round of prayer, both corporate and private, which is at the heart of the Community’s Rule. A daily Eucharist at the centre of this life of prayer is the aim, but in some houses this is not always possible owing to a shortage of priests. There is a small guest house.

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