DOMINICAN nuns from the United States are looking forward to their arrival in Limerick this August to begin their pastoral work at St Saviour’s Church on Glentworth Street.
DOMINICAN nuns from the United States are looking forward to their arrival in Limerick this August to begin their pastoral work at St Saviour’s Church on Glentworth Street.The arrival of four Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia from Nashville, Tennessee, has been hailed as the “best possible outcome” for the church after confirmation that the Dominican friars were withdrawing from the diocese due to a decline in vocations.
The Dominican Order has maintained a presence in Limerick since 1227.
The principal ministry of St Saviour’s Priory was the formation of young Dominicans, as it was the location of the novitiate (first stage in becoming a friar) of the Irish Dominican province.
Four Dominican Sisters will now take over the Priory and engage in pastoral work at the city centre church this August, after an invitation from Bishop Brendan Leahy to set up in Limerick.
Limerick’s Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Planning, Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon, maintains the move is the best possible outcome as the church is going to remain open and the parish will continue with a Dominican presence.
The Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia, Mother Ann Marie, described the order’s imminent arrival in the city as “a gift and privilege”. T
She said that the four sisters coming to Limerick were “eager to learn more about, and come to know personally, a community who have given so much to the Church”.
“The entire community is very excited about being part of the life of the Church in the Diocese of Limerick,” she added.
The foundation stone of St Saviour’s Priory was laid on March 27, 1815, and the church was opened the following year.
by Alan Jacques
