Sr. Madiha Traduos will celebrate 20 years since she made her first vows as a sister of the Good Shepherd on September 8, 2005 – the same date that Blessed Maria Droste Zu Vischering was born in 1863. Today (June 6), on the feast day of Blessed Maria Droste, Sr. Madiha shares about the pivotal moments that defined her vocation and her deep connection and devotion to Blessed Maria Droste, whose example has reaffirmed her power of resilience, acceptance, and commitment.

Long before entering religious life, I had always felt intimately close to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and I’ve never doubted the call of my vocation to become a sister. At first, I thought I was called to be a contemplative Carmelite, like Thérèse of Lisieux, but my parents were against the idea. In time, while living in Cairo, Sister Simone Basharon told me about the Good Shepherd sisters who were just 20 minutes from my home. I knew it was where I belonged.

Before entering as a postulant, Sr. Thérèse Mikhail sent me to Syria and Lebanon for a ‘come and see’ experience—a beautiful year, discovering our spirituality through mission: prisons, youth, catechism, and so many other outreach activities towards young girls and women.

The next year, I was the only person to enter novitiate, where under the guidance of my novice directress, Sr. Thérèse Marie Riad, I grew and discovered more about St. John Eudes and St. Mary Euphrasia. Still, I sometimes longed for my former life—was that temptation?

After my first vows, I was sent on mission to Port Said in the northeast of Egypt along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. There, two postulants had entered on the same day on which I had taken my vows, and Sr. Thérèse Mikhail asked me to accompany them and introduce them to the book on St. Mary Euphrasia: “Nothing is impossible to love.”

Three years later, at the request of Sr. Karima Tamer, I was sent to Shubra in Cairo, Egypt, to help Sr. Simone Basharon at the French-language School and accompany two pre-postulants.

Later that same year, Sr. Karima sent me to France to improve my French and live an international experience, in the Formation Community. I was very fortunate to be able to take part in the Journey of Enrichment sessions, alongside Sr. Odile Laugier and Sr. Marie Françoise Le Brizaut. Living in Angers offered me an opportunity to deepen my relationship with our spiritual founders as I walked where St. Mary Euphrasia had walked, studying her life and that of St. John Eudes. It was an unforgettable year, and I was still in full health!

After that year, Karima Tamer asked me to take on the responsibility of the French School in Cairo. I cried, I didn’t feel capable. But I had taken a vow of obedience, and with the grace of God, the gentle support of Sr. Violette Cassis and her community, my spiritual director: Fr. Nader Michel, and my brother Yunan, I sought my strength in the words “Do not be afraid”.

In 2011, I made my perpetual profession, but I suffered greatly; I often cried alone in my bedroom. With so many responsibilities, I had no time to pray. Even though I slept in the church, I felt disconnected from the Lord, and my emotions overwhelmed me. I couldn’t live what I preached and often asked, “Why am I here?”. I no longer felt in full health.

While visiting home that Christmas, my parents noticed my skin was black and blue. Urgent tests followed, and I was eventually diagnosed with scleroderma, a rare disease. I began weekly low-dose chemotherapy and other medications by myself, but had no pain, so I didn’t take it all too seriously.

By 2013, I was exhausted. I told Sr. Simone Basharon I couldn’t keep going—but I looked fine, and “hands” were needed for the work of the mission. I attended two formation for formators sessions in Kenya, where I learned about participatory leadership and the value of finding time for my own “sacred space”.

That Christmas, I was hospitalized with fever. The disease had affected both lungs. Doctors stopped the treatment: “You’re too young; it’s not working.”

I was sent to Lebanon for another treatment—nine months of capsules, but my lungs kept deteriorating. The province leadership team sent me to the U.S.A. to rest, study, and seek medical treatment. But the treatments in America weren’t successful, and I returned to Egypt in September 2016.

Two months later, I was off to Paris to see Professor Luc Mouthon, a specialist at Cochin Hospital, who confirmed my diagnosis and multiple other conditions from which I was suffering: scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, Raynaud’s syndrome.

I had expected to stay in Paris for one month, but I ended up staying for eight years. I was eventually welcomed back into the community in Angers, and what a joy it was to see familiar faces. I lived there happily for four years, despite health issues and being barely able to walk.

I was unable to return to Egypt after my father passed away in 2017, but my mother came to stay with me. Her presence and the tender care of the sisters sustained me. I thank them to welcome me with all my diseases. And then a miracle: thanks to medication, I regained my autonomy and could shop, cook, and attend appointments alone.

For those four years, I oversaw Saint Vincent’s Home where I was in charge of supporting many women.

It was in 2017 that Sr. Helen Anne Sand gave me a book on the life of Maria Droste and the special gift of her relic, which I still keep in my room. Her illness resembled mine.

That same year, when I returned to Agape community, Sr. Chantal Laurent suggested we pray a novena to Maria Droste. I prayed that she would give me the strength to endure this illness. On the 7th day, I received the sacrament of the sick—I felt immense strength and joy. We did another novena. The miracle? Maria Droste helped me accept and understand my illness, listen to my body, and live in the present.

During COVID, in particular, I learned to live alone peacefully. I read and offered spiritual accompaniment to others over the phone.

Now, thanks to Sr Magdalena Franciscus, I am living in a room in “l’Allée Angevine”, Sr Armelle Dehennault supports me; I accept my path and find strength to know that Jesus too struggled with his trials and tribulations. I find comfort living in the present, praying with others in person or over the phone, offering spiritual accompaniment, and attending “Boussole” meetings with young people.

Over these years, I have had to accept that I can’t do everything, that I am walking a path that I wasn’t prepared for. But I am so deeply grateful to belong to an international congregation in which I’ve been welcomed in Lebanon, the U.S.A., and France – and I’ve even been able to return home to visit my sisters and family in Egypt. I feel grateful to walk the path that God has set before me, following in the footsteps of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

✨ Learn more about Blessed Maria Droste here.