A poster of the film on German-born Sister Virgula Maria Schmitt of the Congregation for Servants of the Holy Spirit (Photo: Supplied)
By UCA News reporter
Jan 31 2024
INDONESIA – The premiere of a film on the legacy of a missionary Catholic nun and the rehabilitation center she set up for leprosy victims was held in Indonesia on Jan 30.
The film — AB(UP)NORMAL: Memoir of the Service of an Apostle for Marginalized People — premiered at St Damian Rehabilitation Center for Disabled and Leprosy in Cancar in Manggarai Regency under Ruteng diocese.
The center was founded by the film’s protagonist, German-born Sister Virgula Maria Schmitt of the Congregation for Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) in 1965 and currently operates in 46 nations.
The film’s unusual title, according to its makers, was meant to convey that people with disabilities and leprosy are not abnormal as falsely perceived by society, but are independent, creative, and hard-working.
The premiere also commemorated International Leprosy Day, which is held on the last Sunday in January, said director Arin Dampus.
The hour-long film, produced by Rumah Baca Aksara, a creative group based in Ruteng, will be shown in schools, universities, and institutions, Dampus added.
Dampus said the film is all about Sister Virgula and the rehabilitation center.
“In our opinion, she deserves to be named one of the heroes of humanity,” he said.
Sister Virgula arrived in Manggarai in 1965. She returned to the congregation’s central convent in Steyl, the Netherlands, in 2014 and died in 2022.
During her stay in Manggarai, the nun also established a rehabilitation center in Binongko in West Manggarai Regency.
In an interview in January 2011, Virgula said meeting a leprosy patient whose family abandoned him in the forest forced her to set up the rehabilitation center in 1965.
Dampus said highlighting the nun’s story was an effort to create “awareness” as human affection in social ties is dwarfing in Manggarai.
Because of this, they chose to make a documentary with “a humanitarian theme,” Dampus observed.
He said the film can change the stigma surrounding leprosy sufferers.
Gheril Ngalong, co-ordinator of Rumah BacaAksara, said the film showed “the spirit of service and good works of Sister Virgula “
Sister Franseline Isabela Sabu, SSpS, chairwoman of St Damian Foundation, said, “I have been thinking for a long time about how to immortalize the story of loving service at this rehabilitation center.”
The nun said she “really appreciates and supports” the youth initiative to perpetuate the work of the rehabilitation center.
The collaboration in making this film hopes that the work of love that Sister Virgula is eternally remembered for “is made known to many people, lived and continued,” she added. – UCA News
