Chapter 2
ANSWERING THE CALL
As the train pulled away from the Zagreb station on its way to Paris,
Gonxha must have thought about the consequences of her decision. Not
only was she leaving family and friends, she was also leaving the only home
she had ever known. If the Loreto Sisters accepted her application it would
mean lifetime separation from her family and her country. She could prob-
ably never even visit her homeland again. The chances of her family visit-
ing her were equally remote; travel was expensive and there would be little
opportunity for her mother, brother, or sister to come to India. Whether
she felt sad and lonely as the train rolled on toward Paris, Gonxha knew
that she had made the right choice. Her life belonged to God.
THE INSTITUTE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The order that Gonxha hoped to join has a long and difficult history.
In 1609, an English woman named Mary Ward established the Institute of
the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), with which the Loreto Sisters are affili-
ated. Ward believed passionately in the equality of women, and deter-
mined that they should be educated accordingly. In creating the IBVM,
Ward envisioned women living and acting in the world. She did not want
members of the Institute to live cloistered lives, as was the tradition for
Catholic women’s religious orders. Rather, inspired by the Gospels,
women would carry the love of Christ to those most in need of it: the
poor, the downtrodden, and the helpless. Ward also saw this woman-
centered order as being relatively free from the governance of male hier-
archy that dominated the church.