Jul
12
Sr. Maryanne Pierre: a CNN hero
July 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
“The maternity ward at St. Raphael’s Hospital in central Baghdad is crammed with wailing newborns. The abundance of premature babies is a little-known consequence of war, explained Sister Maryanne Pierre, the hospital’s director.
“The fear caused many women to have premature births,” she told Catholic news service ZENIT. “Three-hundred fifty babies were born in two weeks.”
The flood of pregnant women came along with the constant stream of sick and injured who sought treatment at the four-story hospital, one of the few to remain open in the Iraqi capital during the war.
Sister Pierre, 58, a raspy-voiced Dominican nun, kept treating patients even as bombs fell around her and looters ransacked nearby buildings.
“This is my job to stay here to help people,” she said in an interview with CBS News. “Even during the first Gulf War we stayed. It’s our duty to stay here for all the people.”
Her colleagues say Sister Pierre, who was born in Iraq and studied nursing in the United States, has kept the hospital open through every conflict over two decades.”
It’s way too easy to forget how many priests and nuns are doing God’s work in dangerous parts of the world. They need our prayers even though much of their work is done quietly and we will never know many of their names.
