Sisters of St Louis to close Motherhouse

After 166 years (1869-2025) of ministry in Monaghan, the Sisters of St Louis are closing their Motherhouse Convent.

The event will be marked by a special occasion this Sunday, March 2, starting with an Open Day and exhibition of ‘The Story of the St Louis Sisters in Monaghan’ at St Louis Secondary School, from 11am to 2pm.

The exhibition is designed by Sr Barbara McArdle, assisted by Sr Marion Reynolds, Sr Máire Cannon, and former Cavan County Museum Curator, Savina Donohoe.

This will be followed by a Mass of Thanksgiving at St Macartan’s Cathedral at 3pm, followed by a gathering with light refreshments at the Hillgrove Hotel from 4:15pm.

‘The Story of the St Louis Sisters in Monaghan’ exhibition, meanwhile, will go on display at Monaghan County Museum beginning Tuesday, March 4.

In 1858, with Monaghan slowly recovering from the devastation and poverty of the famine, Catholic Emancipation led to the hope of a better future, with education seen as the path to progress. Some far-seeing townspeople began to search for a religious order to provide schooling and run a reformatory to deal with abandoned children and so they approached the Sisters of St Louis in Juilly outside Paris.

Sisters Genevieve Beale, Claire O’Sullivan and Clemence McCarthy, arrived in Monaghan on January 6, 1859. No 10 Mill Street was their first residence, setting up a private school there and another one on the North Road. They also took charge of the Chapel School in Lathlurcan at the request of the bishop.

Five months after the community moved to an old brewery at Sparks Lake, and this was to become their Motherhouse in 1926 and the birthplace of the St Louis Congregation in Ireland.

The administration, known as the Central Leadership Team, moved to Dublin in 1973.

Smaller communities of Sisters were established around the town, including Mullaghmatt, Lakeview and St Macartan's.

From Sparks Lake the sisters continued their community life. Eventually the site would accommodate a reformatory, an industrial school, a novitiate and two primary schools, as well as a boarding and later a day secondary school.

With the introduction of free education in the early 70s, the school was adapted to cater for larger numbers. The boarding school was phased out and eventually closed in 1977, and the secondary day school, the infant and girls’ primary schools continue to flourish in modern buildings staffed by dedicated personnel imbued with the St Louis tradition of education.

In 1986 the original convent (St Louis House) became a nursing home for sick and elderly sisters, which closed in 2010.

A decline in vocations over the past 50 years has led to the closure of many convents.

As the Motherhouse closes, six sisters remain in the town - two in a nursing home, and four others who live and work in the locality.

The decision to close the Monaghan convent was taken with a heavy heart. The sisters remember with gratitude their 166 years of service and friendship among the people of Monaghan.

Also remembered are the Friends of St Louis, (1950 - 2010) who gave invaluable financial support to the missions in Nigeria, Ghana and Brazil.

The St Louis convent lands and buildings were recently acquired by Monaghan County Council and are now part of the current project for 'Reimagining Monaghan'.