Part of the congregation at the Mass. Pic: Brian Lougheed
A Mass celebrating the 250th anniversary of the South Presentation Convent founded by Nano Nagle took place at St. Finbarr's South Parish Church on Dunbar Street, off Douglas Street.
The Principal Celebrant was Bishop Fintan Gavin, Bishop of the Diocese of Cork and Ross. Also in attendance was Bishop Emeritus, John Buckley; Cllr. Sean Martin, deputising for the Lord Mayor of Cork; Pat Ledwidge, chair of Nano Nagle Place and many of the religious Brothers and Sisters of the Presentation family.
Bishop Fintan recalled at the Mass that Nano Nagle was known in the city as “The Lady with the Lantern.”
"But the lantern she carried was more than just a light for the streets of Cork," he said. It was a light of compassion. A light of faith. A light of hope."
Bishop Fintan told the congregation which was mostly made up of students of the Presentations schools in Cork that the reason Nano carried that light was very simple. "She wanted to follow Jesus and live the way Jesus taught his disciples to live."
That small light has been passed on from generation to generation for 250 years, the bishop said.
Sr. Sheila Kelleher; Sr. Mary Dinneen (organiser) and Bishop Fintan Gavin.
"Today we give thanks for that light and for the founding of the Presentation Sisters here in Cork in 1775."
Nano Nagle was born in Killavullen, County Cork around 1718 and was educated in France. She came to live in Cork in the 1750s and was shocked by the deprivation and poverty that she encountered. In a bid to help the poor of Cork, she opened her very first school - in secret - on what is now Douglas Street, serving around 30 students.
In 1775 Nano Nagle launched the first Presentation Convent - and would die from tuberculosis just nine years later, at the age of 64. In 2000, she was named 'Irish Woman of the Millennium' for her work in female education, and in 2013 was declared venerable by Pope Francis, recognising that she lived a life "heroic in virtue."
Today, Nano Nagle Place is a popular museum on the southside of the city and it commemorates her life andwork. The complex of historic buildings includes the convent built by Nano for the Ursuline Order in 1771, conserved artefacts and historically accurate rooms to explore including ‘Miss Nagle’s Parlour.’
Nano’s grave is also in the Sisters’ cemetery there.
Bishop Fintan Gavin with students and staff of Christ King Secondary School on the South Douglas Road, Cork.
Bishop Emeritus John Buckley (left) with Bishop Fintan Gavin.Pic: Brian Lougheed
