Sister Ruth, 62, a British Missionary nun from the order of
One in Christ has travelled around the world carrying a 3ft statue
of the Virgin Mary, a mission that has taken her 12 years.

She is now going all over the UK to the London home counties
and now across the south of England. This week she is in
Richmond. Although now living in Ireland she lived in Barnes for ten
years working with London children's charities.

She said: "People see me with the statue and come up
to me and tell me all their problems and I pray with them.

"I think I have achieved a great deal. I have met thousands
of people across the world in terrible situations of despair.
I give them encouragement and hope and help them to experience the love of Jesus."

This week Sister Ruth will be at be at the busy spots
in the borough, supermarkets, shopping centres and at the fire stations where
she will pray with the firemen for the safety of the borough.

She says she has 20 more countries to visit and then she
will have seen all of the world except those countries she cannot enter.
She thinks it will take her another two years.

Whilst having her photograph taken for the RTT on Richmond Green,
she was approached within a short time by a woman who said:
"Excuse me I am just admiring your statue". Sister Ruth introduced herself
and a conversation about Ireland began and the two walked off together.

12:00 Monday 9th December 2002

A MARY PAGE NEWS

A nun who claims the world will be destroyed
in four years is preaching in the Granite City,
the Aberdeen Evening Express wrote October 1.
Sister Ruth Augustus, who arrived with her traveling partner,
a three-feet high statue of the Virgin Mary,
is on a mission to bring people back to God
and says her crusade has the Pope’s blessing.
Also reported by the Aberdeen Press and Journal.

EPPING NEWS Sister Ruth's marathon effort reaches Abbey Church Sister Ruth Augustus has continued her mission to spread the word of God by visiting as many towns, cities and countries as she can.
She made a special visit to Waltham Abbey to see the damage caused to the historic Abbey Church earlier this month.
Sister Ruth, 62, who carries a three-foot statue of the Virgin Mary, began her journey 12 years ago and has been to 200 countries but still has another 20 to visit before she has visited every country in the world.
(Posted on Thursday 30th January 2003)

ENFIELD AND HARINGEY INDEPENDANT
Sister Ruth has a globetrotting habit
Sister Ruth Augustus A NUN who has spent 12 years travelling the world with a three foot statue of the Virgin Mary is spreading her message of faith in the borough.
Sister Ruth Augustus has visited 200 countries with the fibreglass statue and is currently staying in Edmonton as she completes the last leg of her UK tour. She is spending her time talking to people on the streets and in pubs, shops, hospitals and nursing homes to promote the work of the Catholic Church and the Bible.
The 62-year-old, who grew up in Birmingham, is already familiar with the area. More than 30 years ago she worked for a children's charity in Winchmore Hill. She said: "Edmonton is a very cultured place. I really want to get to know the area and the people. I stay in a place for as long as it takes.
"I like being in areas where there is great need. People tell me the most terrible stories, I listen and pray with them, as people get a lot of comfort from that.
Sister Augustus says public response from people of all faiths and backgrounds is generally good. She was well received by prostitutes in the red light district of Amsterdam and has recently spent time praying with London firemen during the fire strikes. She has feared for her own life on occasions during her travels. Her suitcases have been emptied in the street, threatened with jail, groped, pushed and verbally abused.
Despite the dangers, she still keeps going. With 20 countries left to cover Sister Augustus calculates that her mission will take another two years. She added: "I have visited some very poor countries. It is heartbreaking to see the state of the world. People in Africa are dying of AIDS, and in the west people are becoming more and more materialistic.
"When I came back to England it is like another land. People take health care and education for granted, they seem to have little idea how people live.
"I do risk my life doing this, but my faith keeps me going. I feel I have a special duty to England."
11:19 Wednesday 18th December 2002
BUCKS FREE PRESS

NUN'S THE WISER AFTER WORLD TOUR
By James Clements
"HELLO. I am the only nun going round the world with a 3ft statue of the Virgin Mary."
This is how 62-year-old Sister Ruth Augustus introduced herself to people in High Wycombe on Friday morning as she continued a journey which has been reported in the media across the globe.
The backpacker with a difference started travelling the world two years ago and intends to visit every country on earth that will grant her a visa.
"I have got about 20 more to go. Then I would have been to every country in the world except those that will not let me in," she said. "People tell me the most terrible problems when I am on the road. They tell me very, very distressing things."
Sister Ruth started her travels with a 4ft statue but gave it to a small group of Christians in Hong Kong. In return they gave her the 3ft tall statue. It has not travelled unscathed. The right hand fell off when she was praying with prostitutes in a shop window in Amsterdam.
In Bosnia she claims she was chased by a Muslim mob and in Belfast she says she "kept running into Orange parades" and people kept yelling abuse about the Pope.
16:40 Monday 9th December 2002

STATUE TURNS HEADS
Sister with a message
Words: NAOMI CASSIDY
It's not every day you see someone walking down the
street carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary.
So it was no surprise that heads turned
this week when Sister Ruth Augustus came to Romford.
Sister Ruth, 62, from London, stopped off in the
town last Thursday as part of her world tour to
spread God's message. She feels people are more
likely to approach her when she has the statue with her.
She has carried it across 200 countries for the last
12 years and is now going all over
the South East of England.

Throughout her years of touring, Sister Ruth says
she has experienced abuse, persecution and threats. She said: "Most of the time
I have been very scared but nothing will stop me.
"I go into pubs, supermarkets and shopping halls
just carrying the statue. A lot of people
approach me and tell them their problems.
It's a lot easier to approach someone like that
rather than in a church. Not everyone goes to church."

Originally brought up in Birmingham by nuns,
Sister Ruth began her mission after being
inspired by the Bible's Book of Revelations.
She plans to continue taking her message across the world.
When she arrives at a place, she first tries
to find a church. She then either stays with people
from the church or finds some cheap accommodation.
"It's amazing how kind people are to a complete stranger," she said.

"I get a different reception from every country
I go to. In Italy I got a very good reception,
as they're a Catholic country.
But in other places I've been told to go away.

"I try to make myself known because I want people to
approach me, rather than the other way round.
"Language is not a great problem. I speak French as
well as English, so that gets me around most places.

"When there's a difficulty, I sing hymns. A lot of
people join in - though not in England. People are too reserved here."

Sister Ruth Augustus and her companions`WE'RE ONTHE ROADTO WAR! by Hayley Cover
http://www.courier-newspapers-oxford.co.uk/

Bible predicts conflict, says wandering nun.A nun who
is travel-ling around the world helping fallen
women shake off their bad habits has issued a chilling
warning toprepare for war.Visiting Oxford
for secondtime, Sister Ruth Augustus said
last Wednesday: "I am doing this before the
year 2006, when I believe theworld will end. "We
are living in a time ofthe book of the Apocalypse.
Chapter 18 describes the attackon the World Trade Centre."The bible code
says there will be a nuclear war around the year 2006,
and every-thing that the bible code says,has happened.
"Sister Ruth, who is partEnglish and part Portuguese and originally from FinsburyPark in London,
has visited more than 200 countries, car-rying
a 3ft statue of the Virgin Mary and praying
for people she meets.The 60-year-old mission-ary said:
"Oxford is one ofthe most important cities inthe UK and in Europe.
It hasa lot of colleges and is excel-lent for education,
as well as Christianity."The reception I received in
Oxford has been mostinviting both times
every-one has been so nice."The nun was
accompanied by two missionaries from Germany,
Manfred and Gerhardt, whom she met in achurch in
London."After Oxford they are going back to Germany and
I am going on to South America," she said.
"In each country I visit, I go to churches,
red light districts,nursing homes, hospices,
schools and many otherplaces where people need help.
"People talk to me about their problems and tell me some horrific stories,
which shock and upset me, but we pray together and hope
their lives improve. People are attracted to me
because Icarry the Virgin with me."My favourite place
is Gibraltar. Everyone I met there was very friendly.
"In Bosnia, everyone was full of hatred and told
me to get out of their shops, and in Belfast
people shout obscenities about Mary and the Pope,
but in Oxford they are so much more polite.
"Sister Ruth has 25 more countries to visit before the end of her world tour.

Lincolnshire Echo 8th. September2003

NUN SO FINE

Sister Ruth Augustus thought Lincoln Cathedral was so beautiful on her last visit to the city that she took a break from a world tour to take a closer look. The Catholic nun had travelled to Lincoln last year while on a religious tour of the country. She has already visited more than 200 countries around the world during the last decade aiming to spread the word of God. She carries with her at all times a three-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary. "I came to Lincoln while I was touring the country but I did not get chance to see the cathedral and I knew I would have to take another look," said Sister Ruth. "I was in the area visiting Market Rasen and I wanted to stop off in the city again. "I am travelling round to help spread the word of God and I spend my time visiting bars, hospitals and even prisons where I pray with people and they tell me their troubles."

READING EVENING POST Wednesday 10th September 2003 I’m on a mission with Mary’ HOPE – Sister Ruth Augustus comes to Reading with the statue of the Virgin Mary which she is carrying around the world READING station played host to an unusual passenger last week – a globe-trotting nun carrying a 3ft statue of the Virgin Mary. Sister Ruth Augustus, is a 62-year-old Roman Catholic nun, who is half English and half Portugese and has spent the last 13 years travelling the world. In each town she visits, she goes into pubs and supermarkets to talk to people and says she finds people will come and tell her all their problems. She said: “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.”