07/23/2026
Nuns from Kingstree blessed with a visit to the Pope
The good book tells us: “Do not get tired of doing good, because at just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t give up.”
By Ann McGill
Published: Jul. 23, 2026 at 1:17 PM EDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
KINGSTREE, S.C. (WCSC) — The good book tells us: “Do not get tired of doing good, because at just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t give up.”
That is exactly what happened to a pair of nuns in Williamsburg County. They were blessed with a trip to meet the Pope, as a show of gratitude for their decades of service.
Sisters Johnna and Susanne met when they were in their 30s at a seminary for nuns seeking spiritual renewal.
“But when we talked in New Jersey, we said we wanted to do more than just projects that we really wanted to live among the people that we served and to actually be a presence,” Sister Susanne Dziedzic said.
That conversation eventually led them to Kingstree in rural Williamsburg County.
Their neighbors were mostly low-income, African American families. These women who had grown up in New York and Pennsylvania, say it was the perfect assignment.
“You fall in love with the people and the people call forth from you what they need. That’s what my sisters told me,” Sister Johnna Ciezobka said.
And it didn’t take long to realize the area needed a program for kids at the end of the school day.
The sisters say they hadn’t been in the house 48 hours yet when the first little girl came to their door. They gave her a snack and helped her with her homework. She came back the next day with a friend and by day five there were five little girls they fed all of them helped them with their homework and realized they had to open an after-school program.
These seasoned nuns credit two black women who were their neighbors with teaching them how to be missionaries.
Flora and Jeanette have since gone on to glory. But those two soul sisters always made their nun sisters aware when someone in the community needed help.
“And more than once they would they led us to the people. They led us to where the needs were,” Sister Susanne said.
Their community outreach expanded to include a food pantry, clothing closet, after-school program, hot meal program, cooking classes, medical care, legal advocacy program and home repair ministry. Their tireless service was recognized with a prestigious award from the Catholic Extension in 2012.
“It’s called the Lumen Christi award, which means light of Christ. And that award is a national award. And you can only be nominated by your local bishop,” Sister Susanne said.
Officials with the Catholic Extension paid a surprise visit in April to the 75-year-old sisters to invite them to Rome to have an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
Sister Johnna says meeting the Holy Father left her lost for words.
“You know it was like, it’s like overwhelming. I never met a Pope before,” Sister Johnna said.
“We said to him: We want to thank you, Holy Father for all that you’re doing on behalf of, you know, people and we pray for you,” Sister Susanne said.
“Sometimes you can meet celebrities, movie stars, or athletes. But this was different. You know, he is the successor of Peter. Peter who was the first Pope, the vicar of Christ,” Sister Susanne said.
They handed the Pope an index card and asked him to pray for the names of the people written it. In addition to their families and friends, the list included everyone in Williamsburg County.
For more information about the services provided in Kingstree, click here. To learn more about the mission of the Catholic Extension Society, click here.
The good book tells us: “Do not get tired of doing good, because at just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t give up.”
