Early every Thursday morning in Christiansted, Sister Digna Rivas and Sister Judy Mannix, members of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, are up and at it, cooking breakfast for people in need. The nuns and volunteers from Holy Cross Catholic Church serve about 35 people every week at 8 a.m.
The nuns came to St. Croix five years ago on a mission to help people in need.
“God says what do the people need?” Rivas said. “We realized nobody was serving breakfast on Thursday. God shows us so many possibilities and opportunities to help. It’s God’s way of taking care of these poor people. So here I cook.”
The Lighthouse Mission on Company Street doesn’t serve breakfast every day, she explained, and Catholic Charities serves lunch Monday through Friday.
The sisters opened Victoria’s Kitchen in August 2011 on Company Street in the Good Shepherd Center. The cheery open-air eating area is right next to a meditation garden. The guests are treated with respect and seated at folding tables covered with bright colored plastic table cloths. The hearty breakfast is served on reusable plastic plates and cups.
Cedric Miller, a recent guest at breakfast, said he feels blessed and gives thanks for the sisters and the meal they provide.
Mannix said they provide an atmosphere of trust and community, where everyone is valued and made to feel special.
“When we started we didn’t know if it would work and if people would even come for breakfast,” Mannix said. “We had never opened a kitchen before. But we said we can do this. This project is God’s work. God put it in action and sustains it.”
Mannix said at this week’s breakfast, which falls on Holy Thursday, eight volunteers will offer 40-minute foot massages reminiscent of the Biblical story of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. She said last year volunteers did 19 massages and each person got a new pair of socks.
They also do outreach programs at the Youth Rehabilitation Center and Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility.
They have been teaching underprivileged people and immigrants from the Dominican Republic classes in computer basics, English, mathematics and literacy in the Good Shepherd Center.
“Many people come to St. Croix from the Dominican Republic with no documents and don’t speak English,” Rivas said. “This is a step helping them to a better life.”
Both nuns agreed they have wonderful volunteers and benefactors and they wouldn’t be able to provide services without them.
Mannix said as Sisters of the Good Shepherd they are like the shepherd in the parable who goes in search of the one who is lost.
“We reach out to people in need and witness about the merciful love of God,” Mannix said.
Rivas, 68, said she has been a nun for 50 years and will keep working as long as she can. She added nuns aren’t finished working until their life is finished. She is originally from Nicaragua and speaks four languages.
Mannix, who is bilingual and originally from New York, will be 65 this week and has been a Good Shepherd sister for 32 years.
“Our mission isn’t only work,” Rivas said. “We also pray for, love and support people.”
