“I’m in Latin America now,” says Sister Leetta Hammack during a recent visit to the U.S., “but I cannot deny or would not want to deny any of my other life experiences. It has all been so enriching and fulfilling. It all fits together. We are all on a common walk. I feel very blessed and trust I am a blessing to others. That is our role and our call.”

Sister Leetta’s now nearly twenty years in Paraguay were preceded first by ministries in her home state of Missouri, a short stay in California and a decade serving in Honduras. In the early 2000s, at the conclusion of a nine-month sabbatical, and at the request of leadership, she visited and considered three ministries in need of support in South America – Peru, Paraguay and Chile.

That was in 2006, and Paraguay has since become home. She ministered in St. Gerard’s parish in a city on the border of Brazil for ten years while also directing a service project for children from low-income families. Located in the poor neighborhood, the project’s goals are to provide nutritional and educational opportunities while giving the children a safe and enjoyable place to be.

She has been in her current residence for the last eight years, living in the capital city, Asunción and ministering in St. Ann’s parish with two other sisters from the Latin American and Caribbean Province: Sister Mauricia from Brazil and Sister Lucy from Peru.

“My main ministry is presence,” says Sister Leetta. “People know where we live, Catholics and non-Catholics alike come to us and knock on the door. Either they want to talk or have a need that we can try to help them fulfill”

The parish from where Sister Leetta is based is large and extends over a marginalized area of the city.

“Many of the people come from the interior of the country looking for work or better living conditions. Although the area is vulnerable to flooding, some families have taken advantage of free land and moved into the area classified as uninhabitable. Asunción is a big city and has the whole gamut of rich and poor. Many of our residents sustain their families making a living as recyclers. They work with the trash from the city, literally going into the center of town or door to door and collect bottles, cardboard, metals, and plastics. They take these items back to their yards and separate them into large bags which are then trucked to processing centers. The family receives some compensation for their work.”

“I am coordinator of communion ministers and personally take communion to 17 sick and elderly people in their homes. Most of them live with their families, however, some are alone or somewhat abandoned.”

Besides praying and giving them communion, ministers converse with them and try to connect them with other assistance and resources in the neighborhood and parish. “It’s a combination of spiritual and social help,” she says. “You see a need and figure out how you might help or connect them with individuals or groups in the parish or the local community who can respond to their needs.”

St. Ann’s has a grade and junior high school run by the Redemptorists priests with a lay staff. Sisters Lucy and Leetta occasionally prepare interventions in the school schedule to offer classes related to care for our common home, the earth. They have also met with parent groups on this topic. In this area of ecology the sisters are very conscious of witnessing a responsible care of the earth and its resources.

“We recycle water, paper, cardboard, etc. and encourage others to do so. We buy locally when possible and buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local venders.”

The sisters also have a billboard they hang on the front of their home on which they share messages about caring for the planet, not littering and appreciating the beauty of creation. During the Christmas season, the billboard features a Nativity scene. It is a simple but an effect way to evangelize.

Sister Leetta and her fellow sisters also like working with the many beautiful and flowering plants of Paraguay, helping supply the church with greenery and color.

For the last two years, they have used their successful cultivation skills to celebrate Earth Day in their community.

“We put out plants in little recycled pots or cans and put out some posters inviting people to take a plant,” she says. “One of us will be stationed outside for the day, offering the plants to pedestrians. The school kids will pick out plants for their mom or teacher and we replenish them all day.”

Sister Mauricia makes most of the candles used in church and assists the parish secretary and sacristan. Sister Lucy, alongside her spiritual and educational responsibilities with children and youth, forms part of the social ministry of the parish attending to the needs of low-income families, single mothers and the elderly.

Another of Sister Leetta’s responsibilities is to help with the liturgy at the parish.

“Besides the daily Mass, there are a lot of devotionals,” says Sister Leetta. “People commit themselves to prayer styles, particular saints or devotions to Mary.  We have ‘Mil Ave Marias’ or 1,000 Hail Mary’s. Once a month on a Saturday, they start at noon and there is continual prayer until mass at 7 p.m. People faithfully come and they pray the whole time. There is a musician, and after each rosary, they sing. It’s beautiful to witness their devotion, especially to Mary.”

Summer 2025 was Sister Leetta’s first visit back to the U.S. in some three years. She used the opportunity to visit with family, catch up with fellow sisters both at Sancta Maria in Ripa, St. Louis, and The Sarah Community, Bridgeton, Missouri, and to celebrate the 60-Year Jubilee of her first profession.

She notes, “It is a restful time, but puts an emphasis on the contrasts. I am aware of the differences in our world, the different lifestyles.”

She remarked that when she was leaving Asunción, she told people she was going ‘home’ to Missouri. Preparing to make her return to Paraguay, she similarly tells people, she is going ‘home’ to Asunción. She shares that her family here understands that Paraguay is home to her now.

“I am convinced there is nothing that happens by chance, it all fits together, one thing prepares us for the next and I trust that I am still being prepared, I am still being formed, I am still being taught. I hope I can continue to be listening to what God has in store and see it when it comes. It is all in the making and its exciting.”

Learn more about the work of SSND in Paraguay and Latin America.