In Central Spain, a cloistered community of Franciscan sisters is taking an unusual path to live out its mission: saving an endangered animal.
At the Convent of St Anthony of Padua, Sister Consuelo Peset Laudeña, the abbess, begins each day caring for 35 giant rabbits – part of a decades-long effort that has evolved into a full conservation project.
The giant rabbit, once vital during the Spanish Civil War for feeding families and orphans, is now at risk of extinction. The sisters have invested in regulated breeding, tracking pedigrees and carefully managing diet, health and living conditions.
About 90 young rabbits were recorded by late March. Despite strict rules preventing sales, the community promotes the breed by donating animals to schools and breeders.
Supported partly by local funding, the sisters continue the work as both cultural preservation and a response to calls to care for creation from Pope Francis and St Francis of Assisi.
“We have to protect creation,” Sister Consuelo told Global Sisters Report. “We are Franciscans. St Francis is the patron saint of veterinarians, and that is the source of the love and admiration we feel for the Spanish giant rabbit.”
