ST CATHARINE’S CONVENT, EDINBURGH

SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2008

CARDINAL KEITH PATRICK O’BRIEN

Introduction:

In the National Catholic Directory for 1861 it is recorded that: “The
Sisters of Mercy were introduced into Edinburgh from the parent house,
Limerick in August 1858 by the Right Reverend Dr Gillis. The object of
their institute is to take charge of female schools, to give religious
instruction, and to minister to the wants of the suffering poor whom they
visit at their own dwellings”.

In the annals of the Sisters of Mercy themselves, the first chapter in their
long history in our Archdiocese marks the 24 July 1858 as the actual day
when Mother Clare McNamara from Limerick, accompanied by Sister Juliana
Grant came to establish the foundation in the city. On 31 August 1858 with
the arrival of Sister Gertrude Ryan, the Superior, and four more Sisters,
the community was complete.

Early Apostolate:

The great Bishop Gillis, Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern District, who some
24 years before had established the Ursulines of Jesus in Edinburgh, had
similarly called the Sisters of Mercy. It was the Ursulines who initially
gave the Sisters of Mercy the hospitality of their own convent in 1858 and
helped them in every way until they were able to set up their own humble
abode in Wharton Lane where they lived in hardship for the first few years.
However, their apostolates, as indicated, were well under way and in that
same 1861 Directory it is recorded that the Sisters of Mercy in Edinburgh
“superintend the two girls’ schools in Lothian Street” and in those schools
in the first department there were 195 girls, while in the second department
there were 224 girls.

Mother Juliana Grant was elected in 1861 as the first Scottish Superior and
acknowledged as the Foundress, dying in 1867. Mother Mary Agnes Snow was
elected Superior in 1872 – an outstanding religious who had a breadth of
vision in educational matters which put her well ahead of her time. The
Education Act of 1872 altered the status of Catholics and made the training
of teachers imperative. Mother Agnes met this need with some of the
community taking external degrees from London University and to this they
added the Cambridge Teaching Diploma.

Over the years growth in apostolate is recorded: in 1876 the Sisters opened
St Andrew’s Convent in Dalkeith; in 1905 St Thomas of Aquin’s High School
was opened and recognised by the Board of Education; in 1953 the Sisters
formed a community in the new seminary at St Andrew’s College, Drygrange in
the Scottish Borders, caring for the needs of the staff and students.

When vocations to the convents decreased, the Sisters amalgamated with the
Sisters of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Westminster; and in 1976 the
Westminster amalgamation and the Birmingham amalgamation joined to form the
‘Union of the Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain’.


Present Apostolate – and looking to the future:


Having fulfilled a very great need 150 years ago in the field of education,
the Sisters realised that those needs were being fulfilled in recent years
by the Catholic schools taken over by and established since the 1918
Education Act. However, they remained true to the initial purposes of their
coming to Edinburgh in helping in schools wherever needed, continuing to
give religious instruction, engaging in a great variety of forms of parish
apostolate, and in a special way ‘ministering to the wants of the suffering
poor’.

In that 1861 Directory to which I have already referred, the building of
this convent in which we now pray, is described, with mention being made of
the interior of the convent where it is stated: “Internally the building
will be finished without any pretence at decoration. There are a refectory,
a community room, a cloister, and reception rooms on the ground floor; the
two upper floors are set apart for dormitories”.

In 1992, the ‘Mercy International Association’ was formed and Baggot Street,
the initial foundation in Dublin, became the ‘Mercy International Centre’.

At the same time, the Sisters of Mercy in Edinburgh under the inspiration of
Sister Mary Aelred in 1992, opened the ‘Homeless Project and Mercy Centre’,
giving over a complete wing, much of the ground floor, to this particular
project for those in need. With the help of countless volunteers that
particular ministry has grown and flourished from then until this present
time, with Sister Mary Aelred herself being honoured at the City Chambers
and presented with the ‘Will Y Darling Award for Good Citizenship’ from the
Lord Provost of Edinburgh.


Conclusion:


And so the work for which the Sisters of Mercy came to Edinburgh at the call
of Bishop Gillis continues down to this present day. As the present
Archbishop, I as a Cardinal, who benefitted from the ministry of the Sisters
of Mercy in St Andrew’s College, Drygrange and continue to benefit from that
ministry here in my present apostolate, thank God for the various
apostolates undertaken over the past 150 years – and wish the Sisters every
blessing as they continue into the future, inspired by those same objectives
which inspired those first Sisters.

Looking to the future, the Sisters borrow from the pen of their patroness,
St Catherine of Sienna, in stating: “God does not ask a perfect work, but
infinite desire”.

May our Sisters of Mercy at this present time realise how much we appreciate
those works which they have undertaken so valiantly themselves and through
their predecessors – works always suited to the times in which they have
lived and inspired by that infinite desire of pleasing God and serving the
needs of others.

Entrance procession for the Anniversary mass at St Catherine's Convent Edinburgh.

Cardinal O'Brien Blesses the musicians.

A warm welcome from Sister Dominic.

The Offertory Procession.

H.E. Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien.

Liturgy of the Eucharist and Consecration

Sister Aelred askes everyone to pray for the miracle needed for the Beatification of the Venerable Catherine McAuley.

Recessional Hymn and Blessing.

Photographs by Paul Mc Sherry.

Photographs available from pictures@paulmcsherry.co.uk

07770 393960