For Sr. Agnes Mwongela, the call to religious life came early and it never let go. From her childhood in Kenya, her path was shaped by admiration, resistance, divine redirection, and above all, a quiet perseverance that has carried her through 43 years as a religious sister.
She was drawn to religious life at an early age. But that inner longing wasn’t met with instant approval. Her father, though devout, initially resisted her desire to become a nun. Despite this tension at home, Sr. Mwongela remained firm, quietly observing the lives of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in her home parish.
“I admired them, but I didn’t want to join them,” she explains. “They were White missionaries, and I wanted to serve locally among my people, and in a language they could understand.” Yet even as she resisted that specific path, their presence lit a fire in her spirit.
Her journey toward religious life would cross the paths of multiple congregations. For a time, she was in contact with the Little Sisters of Nakuru, corresponding by letter, though it never led to formal steps. Then, during a family visit to Nairobi at Christmas, a breakthrough came. Her father, who had softened over time, finally asked her directly if she still wished to become a nun. She said yes.
Taking the initiative, her father reached out to the Loreto Sisters, where he worked at the time. But on the day Sr. Mwongela was to meet them, a mix-up at the gate prevented her from proceeding with the visit. She returned to her father disappointed, but he quickly acted. Across the road lived the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi (ASN), and he took her straight there.
“We pressed the bell, and a sister came out. She was very welcoming. My father straight away said, ‘This girl wants to become like you.’ I was so happy. That was the beginning of my journey with ASN.” Looking back, she now considers that moment at the Loreto Sisters not as a setback, but as divine redirection.
Now more than four decades into her religious life, Sr. Mwongela has no regrets. “Challenges have been there, in the workplace, in communities, but they have never made me feel I shouldn’t have become a sister. No. I still have that energy to continue,” she says with conviction. “I long to die a sister.”
Over the years, the Kenyan nun served in various apostolates across Kenya, bringing compassion, leadership, and care wherever she has been sent. After over 40 years of ministry, Sr. Mwongela reached a point of deep fatigue and discerned it was time for rest.
She applied to the 24th Session of the St. John Paul II Sabbatical Program, seeking rest and reflection. “In fact, I applied for this course without knowing much about it,” she says. “But when I came, it opened my eyes. I’ve been enjoying the sessions we’ve been given.”
The sabbatical, she said, was very “very good and fulfilling.” It gave her not just physical rest, but spiritual clarity and emotional renewal. “I was really very tired, but I’ve really rested. I feel renewed. I have enough energy to go back to the field.”
Away from ministry, Sr. Mwongela delights in simple joys especially farming. “I love planting things and watching them grow,” she says with a smile, a reflection of her own life: deeply rooted, patiently nurtured, and always seeking light.
Meanwhile, applications for the 25th session—beginning August 4, 2025—are now open. The Program is available to priests and religious men and women worldwide who have served for at least five years.
To apply, please visit https://stjohnpaul2sabbaticalcenter.com/application/ to apply.
