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| This page was last updated on 21st March 2008
Contents To read about each of the following, click on the underlined heading.
Congratulations to this year's Jubilarians!
Diamond: Sr. Benignus McDonagh Sr. Elizabeth Ryan Sr. Bernadette Macken Sr. Regina Bell Sr. Joan Smyth We remember those who have gone before us in faith: Sr. Aquinas Lawler died 25th Feb. 1982 Sr. Augusta O'Meara died 8th Dec. 1994
Golden: Sr. Maria Consilio O'Neill Sr. Angela Halahan Sr. Eileen Holton Sr. Anna Wright Sr. Hilda Murphy Sr. Pauline Leonard Sr. Breda Campion Sr. Maura Flynn
Silver: Sr. Rosaleen Cunniffe Sr. Niamh O'Mahony Sr. Enda Mullen
Update from New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina
Extracts from Sr. Teresa Rooney's letter to the Holy Faith Communities. In August our community returned to St. David's Church for Sunday Mass. The day before the great event volunteer parishioners and students from St. Augustine High School prepared the church by laying a plywood floor. Those who could not do this type of work dusted and cleaned and brought pots of food. It was truly a festive occasion and the sense of community and ownership of the church was tangible. We had 250 parishioners in attendance for the first Mass. They travelled from all over Louisiana, from Texas and Mississippi. We has no interior walls, no air-conditioning, not enough chairs, but we were home and we raised the roof in praise of the God who brought us back! Monday through Friday the builders continue the work of reconstruction in the church and every Saturday a brigade of parishioners arrives with mops, buckets of water, rags, polish and dusters to clean up after them and to set the altar for Mass the next day. In spite of their best efforts we leave church every Sunday with white shoes and a thick layer of grime on our clothes, but feeling blessed. The Lower 9th neighbourhoods are returning slowly. One can see that the government assistance is finally trickling through. The actor Brad Pitt has begun building houses right in the area where the levy broke. Each house costs $150,000 to build. He is getting huge donations and has put a lot of his own money into the foundation which he calls "Making it Right". Families displaced from that neighbourhood can apply for these houses. The other big problem is the number of homeless people in the city. Some of them are people who work but do not make enough money to pay the ever rising rents. The numbers are somewhat inflated by homeless people coming from other states because shelters are being built in New Orleans. Our pastor Fr. Joe is a strong spiritual leader and community advocate in the Lower 9th and is highly respected throughout the city. He has organized ministers of all denominations to work and speak for the people. Their first action was to put a stop to the demolition of homes without the knowledge or permission of the owners. Three of our parishioners lost their homes in this way. As the city recovers slowly, a major problem is mental health and the lack of adequate mental health facilities. Many people are suffering from depression and the death rate from stress related illnesses is very high. St. Maurice Rectory is very large so we house volunteers there. At present we have a retired couple from New York who came to volunteer for two months. They spend their days painting the exterior of the houses in our neighbourhood. God bless the volunteers and the donors!
Good News about Credo Centre. We have heard good news from Trinidad regarding the Credo Centre. Roberta has succeeded in getting Government funding to rent a house that is somewhat suitable as alternative accommodation for the boys from the Credo Centre destroyed by fire some time ago. Roberta and Juliet have also identified a site that would be an ideal location for a permanent replacement building. They ask that we pray that all obstacles may be overcome so that the project can continue.
Holy Faith Sisters Celebrate Sixty Years in Trinidad
The Trinidad Story The Holy Faith Trinidad story began at the close of the year 1947. On the feast of Our Lady of Guadaloupe eight Sisters arrived from Ireland at he request of Archbishop Finbar Ryan. They were asked to help with the ever-increasing work of education in the Archdiocese. Seven of the Sisters including Sr. Laurentina Kennedy who still lives in Ireland, were assigned to teach at St. Teresa's Intermediate School in Woodbrook. They were full of zeal for the education and development of the children and besides formal education exposed the children to operas like The Mikado and Princess Juju, and in 1950, the Holy Year, produced a three hour pageant, 'Credo' on the history of the Church. Expansion Over the years the Sisters have continued to respond to God's call spreading into the heart of the island to Couva, Siparia, Penal, Matelot, Valencia, Diego-Martin. In time too we were called to expand our ministry beyond the boundaries of the classroom into parish communities, the Seminary, hospital ministry, catechetics, community development, retreat work, the media, social justice, work with 'street children' and others at risk, the prisons, and, recently, a micro-credit banking system.
"Under God it began, thro' God it has grown" Margaret Aylward
On Sunday, 16th December the RTÉ television Mass was celebrated to mark the 140 years of life and mission of the Holy Faith Sisters. The Mass of Faith, composed by Sr. Marie Dunne, was sung by the St. Mary's School Choir, Glasnevin. On Thursday, 31st January, the votive Mass of St. Brigid was celebrated in the Church of the Holy Child, Larkhill. Once again the Mass of Faith was sung by the St. Mary's Choir. Following the Mass, the CD of Mass of Faith was launched by Fr. Pat O'Donoghue, Diocesan Director of Music, and refreshments were served. The large congregation included Sisters, Associates, past and present pupils, and Sisters' families and friends.
Sr. Laurentia McCormack is honoured Two special people were honoured recently with a Tribute Night in the Francis Street Parish Centre and Sisters who had lived or worked in the Coombe were invited back for the event. John Gallagher , a legend in the area for his lifetime's work in community upbuilding, had the parish centre renamed in his honour. A presentation was also made to our Sr. Laurentia with thanks for over 30 years of service as Principal of the Primary School and Director of the Parish Centre. She received a plaque which renames her office the "Sr. Laurentia Room".
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Re-union of Sisters who served in Australia/ New Zealand
Some of the sisters who served in Australia and New Zealand at the reunion Following the visit of Sr. Margo Delaney, General Leader, to Australia/New Zealand, she held a re-union afternoon in Aylward House for all Sisters in Ireland who had ministered there. Margo spoke about her visit, showed photographs and afterwards there were refreshments for all.
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