In the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan region, Catholic missionary Dr. Tom Catena says that the smallest victories are magnified in the biggest ways.
It could be a patient’s unexpected improvement or a good outcome from a medical procedure. Or it’s the expansion of vital healthcare services in various parts of Sudan, or the development and leadership of staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital, where he serves as medical director.
“It gives me the encouragement to keep going,” Catena said in an interview from Sudan via Zoom. “The positive things, the victories are magnified, seeing people get better and how the staff are taking on challenges and ownership of things have buoyed my spirits and keep me going.”
Catena has served as a medical missionary in Africa for more than 25 years, the last 17 at Mother of Mercy, a Catholic hospital located in Gidel in southern Sudan. The late Bishop Macram Max Gassis of the Diocese of El Obeid founded the hospital in 2008. It has expanded into a 480-bed facility, serving roughly 3 million people.
Continue reading on St. Louis Review
Photos by Luke Catena