Sisters Of the Holy Family arriving in Stann Creek on the Sarawee, 1898
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November 27, 2021

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Sisters Of the Holy Family arriving in Stann Creek on the Sarawee, 1898

A Group of Sisters Arriving in British Honduras, (left to right: Sisters Marie Louise, Mary Florence, Miriam of Jesus, Mary of Lourdes and Mary Cecilia.

The New Orleans Sisters of the Holy Family: African American Missionaries to the Garifuna of British Honduras – Mother Austin was elected Superior General in 1891. Not all the Holy Family nuns were black. Sr Bertile, who was principal during my time at Holy Angels (1954 through 1956) was white.


The book to the right shows you all the work they did down in Stann Creek. Can be found online. Nice to know our history because they were of color they had problems especially with the Jesuits but they persevered and made sure they educated our people down in Stann creek. A few schools still carried their names but barely mention them in our history of education, sad.

There was a big celebration in Dangriga around 1997 to commemorate this event. The Sisters of the Holy Family opened primary schools in town and the valley as well as a high school in Dangriga which they named Austin High. We no longer have nuns in Dangriga but many seniors have fond memories of them while others remember how strict they were.

Two of our Belizean sisters are still alive in New Orleans at their Sister's house.

In our society you can always hear people talking about the Jesuits, Sisters of Mercy, the Pallotine Sisters, Anglicans and Methodist contributions to Education. I had never heard about the Sisters of the Holy Family who arrived in Belize on a Palm Sunday in 1898. These sisters, based in New Orleans, are an African American congregation who in 1898 agreed to staff a school for “black Carib” children in the Stann Creek District of what was then British Honduras. They held on to prayers and perseverance cause they had their ups and downs with the Bishops of British Honduras at that time. They kept their faith did some good years here in British Honduras. They had built a few schools too.

The Anglican Diocese had Nuns as well, in the late 40's they lived across the Street from the Cathedral of St John's the Baptist.

The boat is named the Sarawee. The Sisters of the Holy Family have been in Belize since 1883. Here's some information on the Sisters.

They actually went on holiday. Then when they returned to city, the Boy Scouts would come out. They would stay in a building that belonged to the church. It must have been kind of uncomfortable to have to sail in all that clothing especially if it got wet. Boating was the only means of transport to Stann Creek before the Hummingbird Hwy. Those boats also carried cargo down to Stann Creek and PG; the roads were very bad then.

Photograph courtesy Leopold Grinage

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