Our History

The Zambia Association of Sisterhoods (ZAS) is a Women Religious National Conference. It operates as a mother body for all Catholic women religious congregations in Zambia.

It was founded in 1958 with the aim of attaining a deeper understanding of African girls and women and to share views, hopes, plans and challenges for the betterment of their Apostolates. At its formation it had 12 Congregations as members with 225 Sisters and the first Chairperson was Rev. Fr Killian Flynn OFM Capuchin.

The Association has grown and its objectives and programming has evolved to including leadership and formation of religious women. Currently ZAS has forty-six (46) member Congregations with approximately over two thousand (2000) sisters both Indigenous and International Missionary Sisters.

The Secretariat, which for a long time had one member of staff, the Secretary General, has now expanded its staff establishment to over 21 members of staff that include the sisters and the lay faithful that are running different projects of the Association.

The Association owns and runs Kalundu Conference Centre (KCC), a hotel which is a sustainability project for ZAS.