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On January 28, 1928, the first five Holy Rosary Sisters sailed from Ireland to Nigeria to establish their initial mission in Onitsha, now the Southern Region of Nigeria. The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary now work
in two regions in Nigeria: Southern Nigeria and Benue. In 1928, their founder, Bishop Shanahan, greeted the first Holy Rosary Sisters at Port Harcourt. They drove inland to their mission at Onitsha, where an enthusiastic crowd and a nicely refurbished house welcomed them. Their founder introduced the sisters to towns and villages, to chiefs and the people, to congregations gathered in the churches, to tribal and family customs, and the laws of the Igbo and Efik peoples. Five young Missionary Sisters opened their order’s first girls’ school (for 250 students) on October 7, 1928, the feast of the Holy Rosary. Later, they started schools in Calabar, Emekuku, and Owerri. Primary school teachers, trained by the sisters, assisted the sisters with new schools.
The Holy Rosary Sisters opened a convent boarding school in 1930 and Holy Rosary Hospital in 1933 in Emekuku, as well as other health care centers, maternity homes, schools, and training centers. By 1938, 48 sisters served insix foundations in Nigeria. By 1944, 93 Irish sisters served in the region. Over the years, the sisters opened many houses and works; some of these projects have been transferred to indigenous religious congregations, as planned. By 1966, sisters from 21 convents directed 220 primary schools, four secondary schools, 12 teacher-training colleges, five vocational schools, six hospitals, and 38 rural maternity homes. Holy Rosary Sisters were also busy with parish activities for women and girls. But the next year, the strife among Nigeria's regions— Eastern, Western, Northern, and Lagos— burst into civil war when Biafra declared its independence. Schools and other institutions were ransacked and burned. The sisters joined efforts to protect and feed the refugees, then fled with them when the battle came near. By 1970, at the end of the war, the sisters cared for an estimated 225,000 refugees in a camp. But 23 convents were closed and 110 sisters were threatened with prison or deportation. The Bishops and the Irish Ambassador secured the deportation of one group shortly after the war ended. Another group was imprisoned; another was able to remain at work in a hospital in Ihiala until mid-March. Finally, all were released; the trip home included ten days in Rome, where they rested and were even treated to tours of the Holy City. The war thus put an end to 40 years of development, but the link with the past was continued through Nigerian Holy Rosary Sisters. They had been trained at Killeshandra, Ireland since 1948, and they were at hand to guide the first steps into the future. Furthermore, a novitiate had been established in 1966 at Nsukka. The war may have accelerated the Irish transfer of missions to the Nigerians. Today…
By 1951, when the Holy Rosary Sisters arrived in Idah, the seed had born fruit. The Church was solidly planted; nearly two dozen priests from the surrounding area led the Chiefs and the people in a joyous welcome; people danced and shouted to the rhythm of reeds and tom-toms to show their joy that Holy Rosary Sisters had come to live among them. They soon opened a hospital, which was overcrowded with more than 200 patients daily. The sisters moved to Adoka, which had a small number of Catholic teachers and students. Girl students were few, so the sisters visited the existing schools and took evening walks to homes to introduce themselves to families and explain an all-girls school. Soon, they opened Holy Rosary School. Two years later, the sisters had foundations in Gboko and Makurdi (in the simplest of buildings) and a sister began to work in the local hospital. Many houses and works were begun; some of these have been passed over to indigenous religious congregations.
Today… Many of the Holy Rosary Sisters’ ministries are dedicated to health care. The sisters manage two diocesan hospitals, three public health care clinics, and a school of midwifery; other sisters work full-time in HIV/AIDS ministry ("thin-man disease"). Four Holy Rosary Sisters teach in secondary schools and another at a third-level institute. Three sisters work in the Diocesan Development Services in Idah; another sister is engaged with Youth Ministry and Environmental Issues. One sister serves full-time in administration. Currently, four sisters are students (two in nursing, one in accountancy, and one in theology). One sister fosters vocations; she visits secondary schools and third-level institutes. The vocation directress meets regularly with young women who have expressed interest in our way of life and holds "live-in weekends" each year. Ten Holy Rosary sisters serve from the Benue area and others are in formation.
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