(CNA) The image of Sr. Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneeling before police urging them not to use violence against protesters captured the world’s attention after Burma’s military coup.
The religious sister said Thursday that the Holy Spirit prompted her to kneel between the police and protesters and that she drew her strength from prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
“I deeply felt the action of the Holy Spirit,” she told journalists in Rome via video call from Burma, the Southeast Asian country officially known as Myanmar.
Speaking in Burmese with live translation provided by a priest and a seminarian from Burma on May 13, she said that prayer had been fundamental in sustaining her during this difficult time for her country.
“Even as we are experiencing a moment of persecution, it has really helped me above all to say prayers of praise,” she said.
“Prayer in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has given me this strength. From there, I drew the strength to help the people and to act like this.”
Sr. Ann Rose Nu Tawng is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis Xavier in northern Burma. The video of her kneeling before police officers in the city of Myitkyina on March 8 even touched the pope.
“I too kneel in the streets of Myanmar and say: ‘stop the violence.’ I too stretch out my arms and say: ‘may dialogue prevail,’” Pope Francis said on March 17.
Follow
