Holy Rosary Sisters/ Missions&Ministries / Europe / Ireland

Founder's Cause History Today's Vision Global Community

Sr. Patricia Chima and student.

Ireland

In 1924, a dozen young professional women came together at a farm in the small village of Killeshandra, County Cavan, “to bring the Good News to the poor” in Nigeria. The first Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary responded to the pleas of the Irish bishop of Nigeria, the congregation’s founder. The foundation is rooted in the need to reach out to women and children in that former colony in West Africa.

In March 1924, the founder planted a sapling to represent the young women who were committing themselves to a life of contemplation and action. Drumullac House became the new order’s first motherhouse. Dominican Sisters of Cabra, Dublin provided formation for the postulants, who also tended to the cattle, chickens, and other chores that led to a financially viable farm.

The first 10 Holy Rosary Sisters made their professions in February 1927. The following January, half of that group sailed to Nigeria to open their congregation’s first mission, while the other 5 women continued their work in Ireland.

Today in Ireland, Holy Rosary Sisters travel from other countries for professional training, ongoing formation, medical leave, and retreats.

“New” Killeshandra

Senior sisters return from the foreign missions for rest and continued service. The missionary spirit rekindles itself wherever missionaries are. Those who can work, do so. Those who are retired, as the road lengthens behind them, enjoy the opportunity for leisure, relaxation, sharing memories, prayer, and contemplation. Our nursing home in Dublin provides full-time care for those who need it; local houses are upgraded for those who need assisted living.

The “new” Killeshandra in Cavan includes two houses for 12 women each, joined by a chapel. Semi-retired sisters run a promotions office that combines fund-raising with mission awareness and development education. These activities include speaking and collecting in churches, as well contacting benefactors and producing calendars and newsletters.

Mairead Fitzpatrick

One hundred thirty-nine Holy Rosary Sisters remain active in Ireland through their prayers and parish ministry, which includes retreats, counselling, chaplaincy, holistic healing, and ecumenical peace and justice programs. Individual sisters engage in various ministries full-time, part-time, voluntary, or waged. They bring the riches of their intercultural experiences to organizations such as the Board of Development Co-operation Ireland, Africa/Ireland, Irish Missionary Union, and Propagation of the Faith. Sisters work with community health and education programs, addressing HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, literacy, and learning disabilities. They provide special attention to refugees and asylum-seekers, many of whom, sadly, are obliged to flee from regions where the sisters previously worked.

Eight decades after that sapling was planted on a hill in Killeshandra, Holy Rosary Sisters share the Good News in the United Kingdom, Africa, and the Americas. The world has experienced unprecedented change. The number of women in Ireland choosing religious life has significantly decreased; today, Nigeria is the main sending region of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary.

Ireland, which began as a sending region in 1924, has become a receiving region as age and health problems bring many sisters back to where they started. These women, who have borne the heat and burdens of the day, now rejoice in the growing number of Nigerian and other Holy Rosary Sisters who carry the torch for the good news of Christianity.

United Kingdom