Mags GarganMags Gargan visits the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Wexford
Nestled beside the towering Church of the Assumption on Bride Street in Wexford, the Perpetual Adoration Convent has a touch of Doctor Who’s Tardis about it – small on the outside, big on the inside. The deceptively large interior is filled with high-ceilings, religious artefacts, corridors filled with stained-glass coloured light, all spilling out into a beautiful large back garden. Here I am given a tour by the superior, Sr Peter and the order’s online whiz, Sr Rosella – two very down to earth ladies with a great sense of fun.
The Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are a contemplative order of nuns, founded in 1875 by the Bishop of Ferns, Dr Thomas Furlong. “Bishop Furlong wanted perpetual adoration,” Sr Peter explains, “and we maintained day and night adoration from January 1, 1875 unbroken until March 1, 2013.”
Peak
The sisters’ numbers have dropped from a peak of 39 to 10 women aged from their mid-60s to mid-90s, so they could no longer maintain adoration through the night. After a tradition of 138 years it was a very difficult decision to make, but Sr Peter says they had to accept their circumstances.
“It was a hard decision. The bishop came down to talk to us and he said we had to take all things into consideration,” Sr Peter says. “We loved the night adoration and miss it. It was quiet at night. Sometimes you would hear the click clack of a lone pair of stiletto heels and I would always pray for that person.”
The Adoration Sisters have always had a good relationship with the parish and are a support for local people in distress and in need of prayer.
Adoration now runs from 6am to 10pm and the sisters’ numbers are boosted by a voluntary roll of about 90 parish adorers who cover the hours from 7pm to10pm.
Life in the convent runs to a meticulous timetable. A typical day begins at 6am, with meditation at 6.30am, followed by Mass at 7am and breakfast at 7.30am. The sisters then go to work completing household chores and various responsibilities, and continue to pray the liturgy of the hours throughout the day, with a half-hour recreation time in the afternoon. They also have a rota of two half-hours of adoration each spread throughout the day.
The sisters were the sole supplier of altar bread for the Diocese of Ferns, but their declining numbers meant they had to stop in 2013, but they still make some clerical vestments.
Enclosed
While it is an enclosed order the sisters do sometimes venture into the outside world, to vote in the recent marriage referendum for example, and they are allowed to take a fortnight holiday every year to spend time with their family.
They keep up with current affairs by watching the 6pm news on television every day. They also watch the Rose of Tralee each year and Sr Peter admits to being a fan of The Late Late Toy Show.
Sr Peter is originally from Termonfeckin in Co. Louth and was a founder member of the Macra na Tuaithe a youth group in the 1950s, now Foróige. She always found the strength she needed from talking to God and felt “I wanted to give my life to God”.
Sr Rosella is from Bailieboro, Co. Cavan and was originally working as a nurse when she had a strong spiritual experience and prayer became a huge part of her life.
“I always had a desire to embrace humanity in some way. I was attracted to quietness. I also liked dancing and all that sort of thing, but when my mother died I felt she was telling me think less of the things of this world and more about everlasting life. I began to reflect and did a retreat where a priest suggested I become a contemplative nun.”
Normal
He invited her to join him on a retreat he was giving at the Adoration Sisters’ convent and here she “felt this was the place where God was calling me to”. “I liked their openness and to me they seemed very normal! I loved the Eucharistic Adoration.”
Sr Peter says adoration makes people contented. “You appreciate what you have and some way or other what you want comes along. If you are stressed about something, you can tell God about it and the very fact that you are telling God, you are telling yourself as well. You listen and somehow the answer comes. Maybe you still have to face the problem, but you get the strength to get through it.”
Despite their depleting numbers, Sr Peter says she doesn’t worry about what the future holds. “God’s in charge of the future. He has looked after us this long and hopefully will look after us the rest of the time. We just trust Him. We face things as they happen. We trust in God and we find He never lets us down.”
www.adorationsisters.ie