An ‘innate goodness’ in the hearts of the Killeshandra Nuns

The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary in Killeshandra marked the final instalment of their centenary celebrations with a joyous thanksgiving Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim in Cavan Town on Saturday morning.

Much of the focus during proceedings was on the achievements of the ‘Killeshandra Nuns’ and its congregation over the last 100 years. There was an emphasis also on the role played by the congregation’s Cavan founder, Bishop Joseph Shanahan, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Nigeria - a man described by Chief Celebrant Bishop Martin Hayes as one who possessed “innate goodness” and inspired the world through his missionary work.

Those in attendance heard how the sisters have continued this work over the last 100 years- delivering healthcare, education, and social justice to some of the most impoverished countries on earth.

But none would have happened, nor would such a joyous occasion have been celebrated, were it not for a chance meeting between Bishop Shanahan and then Bishop of Kilmore P Finnegan in late 1923.

Following the encounter seven women entered the order in a newly purchased property at Drumully House in March 1924, after just five months of training with the Cabra Dominican sisters. And, the rest as they say, is history. An illustrious history.

The first 10 years saw many challenges and indeed opportunities.

Plans

The initial plan for the seven Sisters was to serve in Nigeria, but developments back home in Cavan changed that. Three of the nuns - Agnes Ryan, Ellen Burns and Nora Leddy - were native to the Breffni county and great hope was placed locally in their capabilities.

As the congregation grew, a number of sisters were assigned to Nigeria. But many became ill with Malaria and were forced to return to Ireland for treatment.

However, the Holy Rosary Order did gain momentum and by the 1940s and 1950s “the spirit of the congregation” was beginning to attract lots of women.

Bishop Shanahan was described as a visionary when it came to education. He felt by establishing the Order he was demolishing existing barriers to women’s education, and believed those barriers would disappear under the “perseverance and guidance of the Sisters of our Order”.

The Sisters continued their work and by 1939, they were in England, Africa and South Africa helping the poor, setting up clinics and providing healthcare.

Bishop Shanahan died in 1943 but by then, the Sisters had opened a clinic in Nigeria.

Starting out by providing medical care from the veranda of their house, it has over the decades grown to become a major hospital in the West African country.

Many people of southern Nigeria - the Igbo People, an ethnic identity in the context of decolonisation and the Nigerian Civil War - were devoutly religious and were drawn to Christianity. After Vatican 11, more and more Nigerian women began to enter the Holy Rosary congregation.

Spiritual energy

The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary now serve in 13 countries worldwide. And, despite the fact the convent in Killeshandra closed in 1985, the rich legacy of helping and caring for others less fortunate lives on to this day.

Nine sisters continue to reside in Cavan Town, seven in the Convent, Killeshandra House, and two live in a private dwelling.

Bishop Hayes added during Saturday’s celebratory Mass: “Bishop Shanahan’s innate goodness is what inspired all of this and we give thanks for his missionary work in Nigeria. We are grateful to the Holy Rosary Sisters for their response to Bishop Shanahan’s invitation to go out to Nigeria and we are grateful for the spiritual energy that initially shaped the Holy Rosary congregation which was among the first female missionary congregation in Ireland.”