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Trapped in Paradise
Premieres Thursday, December 12, at 7pm CT

About the Show

In the fall of 1940, four nuns of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange embarked on a long voyage to the missions of the South Pacific. The focus of this missionary work for Sisters Celestine, Isabelle, Irene, and Hedda was to heal the sick and provide education to the Indigenous peoples of the Solomon Islands. 

North Dakota-born Sister Hedda was charged with keeping written records and reports of their work. Following the events of Pearl Harbor, her journals transformed from logging daily life as missionaries to keeping one step ahead of the Japanese, who have begun to establish dominance in the South Pacific. This act of power by the Japanese naval forces pushed the sisters to take refuge in the deep jungles of the islands.

No one could have predicted the need to flee. 
No one could have predicted the urgency to do so.
No one could have predicted the method of their salvation from danger. 

📺 How To Watch

Tune in to Prairie Public on Thursday, December 12, at 7pm CT

At the time of broadcast, the film will be streaming on-demand on our YouTube channel and the PBS app.

Images of missions and missionaries courtesy of the Archives of the Society of Mary - Marist Fathers and Brothers USA.