Selma, about three hours north of Mobile, was prosperous before the Civil War but has suffered economically for decades as industry moved away. Today, it is the poorest city in the state, one of the poorest cities in the nation, and 38% of its less than 18,000 residents use food stamps, compared to 12.6% nationwide.

Its main street is home to an abandoned hospital, its windows broken out and mildew growing on the walls. On a recent afternoon, a man slept on the front steps.

Edmundite priests have been ministering in Selma since 1937, and for much of that time, women religious have assisted them. Currently, there are four sisters there: Sr. Mary Agnes Cashman and Sr. Virginia Patrick from the Congregation of Divine Providence in Kentucky and Sr. Kathleen Navarra and Sr. Pat Flass of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, New York.

As if things weren’t challenging enough in Selma, a tornado hit the town Jan. 12, causing significant damage and injuring dozens.

“I walked the neighborhood after the storm, and everyone, I swear, told me how blessed they were,” Cashman said. “They would show me their home, which was destroyed, and say they’re blessed. That night, I said, ‘God, if I came home from work and had no place to live, I don’t know that I could say I was blessed.'”