The convent lost power and generators were put into place as backup. A fire department captain told local media that the sisters, some of whom were on oxygen, were scared but in good spirits. “We joked with them a little bit.... They are a great bunch of ladies.”

“Up until the last five or 10 years, Mass was offered every day. Then it was hard to get priests [every day]; then it was hard to get priests on the weekend. There were [fewer priests] in the parishes and they were being stretched thin.”

As tensions rise again with the approach of a Nov. 12 deadline for the creation of a unity government, Bishop Kussala has a message for the conflict-weary people of South Sudan. “The church is here to stay,” he said. “We serve the people; we don’t run away.”

Rainforests are not the only things under threat in the Amazon region. There has also been an uptick in violence against native peoples: land invasions, illegal exploitation of natural resources and damage caused by invaders of indigenous lands went from 96 in 2017 to 109 in 2018.

Mexico is on edge after a wave of violence hit the country last week, culminating in heavy fighting between the army and alleged members of organized crime in Culiacán, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa, that lasted for hours on Oct. 17.

The overall tone of the evening was lighthearted and provided a chance for prominent business executives, church leaders and politicians to come together in friendship and charity. This unity was helped by the fact that no one was safe from the jokes of Martin Short, the master of ceremonies for the evening.