Deep sorrow as Carmelite convent closes after 340 years

Dwindling vocations and an aging sisterhood has lead to the closure of St Joseph’s Carmelite convent in Loughrea, Co. Galway, founded 1680.

Of the five remaining sisters there, three will join the Carmelite convent in New Ross, Wexford, one will go to Dublin and one will return to her country of origin, the Philippines.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Sr Catharina of Loughrea convent said that it is a “great loss and a challenge” for the sisters and the local community.

“We feel mixed emotions having to leave Roscrea, after 340 years here – it’s a long time,” Sr Catharina said. “And the people themselves are very sad also.”

Sr Catharina, who had been at the convent more than 20 years, said they knew the closure was coming as the congregation dwindled.

“But sure we could see it was coming because no vocations were coming for some time and some elderly sisters were dying and others were getting older,” she said.

“It’s a different world these days, people just don’t see the religious life in the same way anymore,” she continued.

“For us, it meant so much. The prayer, the times of prayer, meant so much. We weren’t just praying for ourselves but for the rest of the world really, you know.”

At the Mass of Thanksgiving and Farewell for the Carmelite Sisters, Bishop Michael Duignan sympathised with the sisters’ “sad task”.

He recalled the great service they gave the community in the 340 years: “Generation after generation of people have come to ask the Sisters for prayers in times of trouble or sickness or need,” the bishop said. “For many, great peace came as a result of those prayers.”

The community do not have a set date for their departure, but it will be “well before Christmas”, Sr Catharina said.

It is yet to be determined how the convent buildings will be used after the sisters have left.