Discover the Power of Faith

Lukeca Joseph was born to Octavie and Philip Joseph on August 4, 1967, in Choiseul, Saint Lucia, the eleventh of twelve (12) children comprising nine (9) girls and three (3) boys.  She grew up in a close knit, staunch Roman Catholic household and very early on decided that she wanted to live her life in service to God. Despite that early inclination however, she went off to work upon graduating from secondary school. A family friend, learning of Lukeca’s desire, intervened, assisting her with research on the various religious congregations existing in Saint Lucia. 

Lady Abbess Mother Marianna Pinto, OSB, first Abbess of Our Lady of the Assumption Abbey, Mount of Prayer, Coubaril, Saint Lucia, was born in the small town of Noci, near Bari in the south of Italy on July 24, 1933, from a family of 10. At age 15, she entered the Monastery of San Giovanni Battista at Monte Mario in Rome, studied for a degree in education, became a schoolteacher and the contact person between the cloistered monastery and the outside world. She made her solemn profession in 1961.

The vision of the new monastery was to promote both the spiritual and human development of the people of Chipata. To achieve this, in addition to the monastic buildings and church, a school was erected as well as a health clinic and facilities to support agriculture.