Sister Carmen Sammut is a Maltese

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

. She was a leader of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and the superior general of the

Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (SMNDA; ), often called the White Sisters (''Sœurs blanches'') is a missionary society founded in 1869 that operates in Africa. It is closely associated with the Society of the Missionaries of Africa ...

, known as the White Sisters.

Biography

Sammut was born and raised in Malta. In 1974, she joined the

. As a missionary sister, she spent 28 years as a teacher in Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania, all Muslim-majority countries. Carmen studied at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and speaks fluent Maltese, English, French and Arabic. In 2011, she became

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of her order, a role she held until at least 2019. In May 2013, Sammut was elected president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), succeeding Mary Lou Wirtz, superior of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Under her leadership, UISG pushed for the ordination of women as

deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

, as well as a more culturally and ethnically diverse body of deacons. She also spoke out about abuse within the Church, calling for accountability and prevention. In 2015, Sammut was one of three sisters to audit the Vatican's Synod of Bishops on the family. She stepped down from the position in 2019, having served two terms.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Christian nuns 21st-century Maltese people 21st-century Maltese women Female Roman Catholic missionaries Maltese Roman Catholic missionaries Maltese Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Missionary educators Roman Catholic missionaries in Algeria Roman Catholic missionaries in Tunisia Roman Catholic missionaries in Mauritania Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies alumni {{RC-bio-stub Superiors general

Biography

See also

References