Bartholomew's Notes

Update (2016): Sister Ruth Augustus has sent me, via a representative, a copy of an Apostolic Blessing Card, which states that “His Holiness Pope John Paul II cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing to Ruth Augustus FIU”. A letter with this informs me that FIU stands for “Fratres in Unum”, and that these initials “signify our client’s commitment to the Catholic faith as a nun”. Further, it is stated that “Sister Ruth August professed her perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience at the Our Lady of Dolours Roman Catholic Church”.

Staying with the BBC, news from Scotland of a religious eccentric:

A woman claiming to be a Franciscan nun has twice been barred from boarding a flight from Shetland to Aberdeen.

Sister Ruth Augustus said that British Airways would not allow her to fly because she was carrying a two foot statue of the Virgin Mary.

BA states that the nun was abusive, but Sister Ruth rejects that accusation:

“When they said I couldn’t take the statue on the plane I said I’m reporting you and it’s disgraceful behaviour.

“I don’t call that rude, I call it self-defence against a tremendous, unjust and cruel treatment which is disgraceful.”

Sister Ruth is on a mission to spread Christianity around the world; she claims to have visited 200 countries in the last 15 years with her statue (sometimes described as being three foot tall), which was given to her by Christians in Hong Kong in return for a taller one. UK.Gay.com provides some more background in this 2002 report:

Sister Ruth Augustus, an anti-gay nun who claims to be a Catholic missionary has been preaching gloom and doom around Scotland.

The Catholic Church has warned the public to steer clear of the mystery, homophobic Sister Ruth who claims nuclear war is imminent and the next Pope will be a Satanist. The Church said she is not from any recognised order, but there is little they can do about her calling herself a nun.

Portuguese Sister Ruth travels with her trademark three- foot statue of the Virgin Mary under her arm, in which she collects donations.

In July Sister Ruth was arrested as a suspected ringleader in violent anti-gay protest in Croatia. Homosexuals were pelted with eggs and bottles in the capital Zagreb, reported the Daily Record.

This was a counter-protest to a gay pride parade. Time magazine has more:

Ruth Augustus, a 61-year-old nun from London, stood waiting in Zrinjevac Park with a statuette of the Virgin Mary and a list of insults before the parade was set to begin. With a tight grip on the Virgin, Augustus shouted at the parade as it passed by: “You’re dirty pigs,” “stupid faggots,” “carriers of AIDS infected seed,” and on and on until the police suggested she spend the afternoon in the jailhouse instead.

(A Croatian account mentioning Sister Ruth can be seen here, but I can’t read it)

However, although still a Fred Phelps-style homophobe, since then Sister Ruth has revised her “next Pope will be a Satanist” position, as shown when she pondered the installation of Pope Benedict XVI with the AFP:

Pilgrims and members of religious communities had been making their way to the Vatican since before dawn.

“He’s very holy, he won’t listen to any nonsense about gay marriage,” said Sister Ruth Augustus, a Franciscan missionary from London, referring to a Spanish bill passed this week to authorize same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.

“And he wants to kick out the priests who have sex with children,” said Augustus, carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.

Sister Ruth has been wandering the UK since 2002, dispensing quotes to local hacks, who have been competing for the most obvious punning headline based on the word “nun” (“nun’s the wiser” etc). An early sighting was in Blackpool; soon afterwards, she was in Edmonton. In early 2003, a report from Waltham Forest, East London gave a fuller profile:

Her job description is simply walking around the streets of her chosen town asking people to join her in prayer, all the while holding the fibre glass statue of the Virgin Mary which has been known to ‘cry.’

The Birmingham-born nun [actually, she was born in Burma – see below] says her statue has been known to shed tears when faced with hostility from non-believers during her mammoth world tour.

…She has recently been to fire stations praying for the firemen and the state of Britain as it stood on red alert for strikes, and while she was in Amsterdam she visited the notorious red-light district where she prayed with prostitutes.

(according to a report from Hertfordshire the right hand of the statue fell off while she was doing this)

Talking about why she is back in Britain she said: “I went to the University of Brunel in the 60s and studied English literature and history. I got my education free and I still get my health care for free so I want to give something back to the country and I’m going to cover all of London and the UK.

…Her most hostile receptions came in Belfast and Bosnia.

“The men would come out of cafes and scream abuse at me in Bosnia,” she said.

…Sister Ruth will be taking full advantage of her public profile and the media to spread the word through presenting a television show on cable channel Revelation TV called Sister Ruth Presents, starting on February 14.

This TV programme seems not to have materialised. Later, she discussed her motivation with local media in Reading:

I started as a missionary and no-one would talk to me so I got a statue of the Virgin Mary and carried that around with me.

“People trust her and so they trust me. I am approached by all kinds of people – Christians, Muslims, Jews and even atheists.

“Some people may say I am just another crackpot but I don’t do this for the fun of it, and most of the time I am terrified.

“All I want to do is give people hope and comfort.”

In Oxford she teamed up with a pair of mysterious German missionaries, named as Manfred Mieruch and Gerhardt Kownatski; in Greenwich, south London, she discussed Halloween, Muslims and the end of the world:

She said: “Stationery shops sell devil’s masks. They’re not selling angels. Hallowe’en has been made a devil-worshipping weekend and is ruining our children.

“It makes them very cruel, very selfish and very greedy. When they play trick or treat, they throw broken eggs all over your doorstep if you don’t give them something.” Sister Ruth, who was born in Burma and brought up in Birmingham, says response from people in Lewisham and Greenwich is generally good.

“…Greenwich people are very friendly. But Muslim fanatics swear at me and I tell them to go and live in a Muslim country rather than live on benefits.”

…She began her journey after reading about the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelations, an event she believes will take place as the result of a nuclear war in 2006.

She said: “Chapter 18 describes the attack on the World Trade Center thousands of years before it happened.

Time is very short. We’re living in the dawn of the Apocalypse.”

Those wishing to survive should head off to Cornwall, apparently:

 Cornwall is safe from the forces of darkness and evil – according to Sister Ruth Augustus.

The English/Portuguese nun travels the world with her 3ft statue of the Virgin Mary ridding the world of devil worship and Satanism.

She claims that Cornwall is protected by its saints and is far safer than London.

However, she also claims that a nuclear war is coming in 2006; but not to Cornwall.

In 2004 she led prayers at a church in Kingston-on-Thames; her campaign also turned to football. Over to the Daily Record:

A GLOBE-TROTTING nun yesterday launched a one-woman protest to get England coach Sven Goran Eriksson the sack.

Sister Ruth Augustus stood outside the Football Association HQ in London yesterday, demanding his dismissal.

She was furious about the Swede’s affair with FA secretary Faria Alam, 38.

Sister Augustus, 64, who wore an England top over her traditional habit, carried a three-foot statue of the Virgin Mary with her.

Later that year she made a detour to Belize:

Sister Ruth Augustus, who has already toured 219 countries, came to Belize to bring her message of peace and hope to Belizeans. She participated in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Rally called March For Jesus which took place this last Sunday through the streets of downtown Belize City.

…Sister Ruth said, “So far I have had a nice response in Belize and I really enjoy the local beer, Belikin”. She also observed that, “Belize is one of the most religious countries I’ve visited.”

…When queried about who is financing her holy trek, she informed that monies from her family’s estate are sponsoring her travels.

She said, “People come up to me, tell me about their terrible problems, and I pray with them.” Sister Ruth worked for children’s charities in London before setting off on her marathon pilgrimage.

She has been mobbed giving away holy medals in the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, threatened in some Islamic states, and rebuked in England’s capital city for her beliefs.

Those of us of a romantic disposition might like to see Sister Ruth paired off with Cornelius Horan.

UPDATE: Sister Ruth is now back in London. Shetland Today has more details, as well as a link to her website. There, she denies the claim that she collects money in the statue, or that she incited violence in Croatia. She also warns:

The Virgin Mary prophecies a comet will hit the Atlantic Ocean causing world wide flooding. The earth will go off its axis, causing three days of darkness. Every house should have a wax candle blessed by a priest. It will be the only source of light.

The last Pope, John Paul 1 was poisoned in the Vatican by Masonic Cardinals. They will murder this Pope and place a false, Masonic Pope in the Vatican. He will help the Anti-Christ, probably an Islamic Leader, put the Devil’s number 666 on many things, including credit cards and with laser beam implants, microchips, on people’s foreheads and wrists.

(Tipped from ASSIST Ministries)

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