There are places where love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus is expressed above all through saving human lives – one such place is the mission hospital in Katondwe.
Olsztyn, July 10, 2026
Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus!
In June, together with a group of benefactors supporting the Dehonian missions, I visited Paray-le-Monial, where – as I had promised – I brought the prayer intentions and words of thanksgiving sent to our Mission Secretariat as part of our June prayer campaign. The message of this place, where Jesus revealed the mystery of His Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, once again resonated deeply within me, though in a new way. The love of His Heart beats for every human being, and especially for those who suffer. I am reminded that this truth finds its daily expression in a place on the far side of the world that has borne the very same patronage for more than sixty years – the Sacred Heart of Jesus Mission Hospital in Katondwe, Zambia.
Katondwe is a large village in the bush of eastern Zambia, in the Luangwa River Valley. Most families live in simple mud huts without running water or reliable electricity. The local people depend mainly on maize farming and fishing for their livelihood. Yet fishing can be a deadly occupation. Many of the patients admitted to the mission hospital are victims of crocodile and hippopotamus attacks.
It is in this challenging environment that the Servant Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Starowiejska Congregation) carry out their mission. Their hospital is the only medical facility serving the entire Luangwa District. Women suffering from life-threatening childbirth complications, children battling malaria and severe anaemia, victims of road accidents, people attacked by wild animals, and patients in urgent need of surgery all come here for help. They arrive on foot, by bicycle, on makeshift stretchers, and sometimes even cross the river from neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
One day, a woman was brought to the hospital after a crocodile had nearly torn off her right arm. She arrived too late to prevent a serious infection, and her condition was critical. During treatment, the medical team discovered that she was pregnant – with twins. Faced with this dramatic situation, surgeons, doctors, and nurses joined forces in a determined effort to save both the mother and her unborn children. After two months of intensive treatment, accompanied by constant prayer, her wounds gradually began to heal. In the end, she regained approximately fifty percent of the use of her arm and was able to return home to await the birth of her children.
The hospital is directed by Sister Mirosława Góra, ABMV, a surgeon who, for thirty years, was the only physician serving the entire district. Together with a dedicated team of lay staff, this small medical community now provides care for around six thousand patients every year. What began as a hospital with just twenty beds has grown into a one-hundred-bed facility with an operating theatre, maternity ward, neonatal unit, X-ray department, and ultrasound services. One part of the hospital, however, has not kept pace with its remarkable development: the laboratory. Yet it is often a rapid and accurate diagnosis that determines whether a patient lives or dies. Particularly alarming is the lack of a dedicated tuberculosis testing room, which exposes both patients and staff to a significant risk of infection.
The construction and equipment of a new laboratory will cost approximately PLN 350,000 (around EUR 82,000). For the Sisters, this amount is simply beyond their means. I believe, however, that together we can make this project a reality and help build the laboratory that the people of Katondwe so urgently need.
With prayer +
ks. Piotr Chmielecki SCJ
Deputy Secretary for Foreign Missions
of the Dehonian Fathers in Poland
P.S. On the first Friday of each month, I entrust every person and every community that makes up the Dehonian Missionary Family to the Heart of Jesus, asking Him to reward you for your kindness.