TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the State have hailed the decision of Pope Francis to declare its Foundress, Nano Nagle, as Venerable on October 31.
“We are delighted with the news. By proclaiming Nano Nagle as venerable, the Universal Church has recognised Nano as a woman of faith, hope and heroic virtue whose vision and work transformed the lives of so many. For our sisters, associates and friends of Nano throughout the world, Nano has been and continues to be a source of inspiration and challenge as we respond to the needs of today, in fidelity to the Gospel and in the spirit of Nano,” said Sr Mary Deane, head of the congregation leadership team for the
Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Nano Nagle was born Honora Nagle in Ballygriffin in Cork in 1718, a turbulent time in Irish history due to the Penal Laws.
The Nagle family was a wealthy Catholic family and Nano had the benefit of a European education and privileged lifestyle. She devoted her life to God and to working with people on the margins of society.
Nano Nagle was one of the great pioneers of Catholic education in Ireland. Her mission of educating the poor began in a little school in Cove Lane in County Cork, Ireland, in 1754.
She founded the congregation later known as the Presentation Sisters, on Christmas eve 1775, the culmination of 20 years of a life of devotion to the cause of improving the circumstances of others. She died in Cork in 1784 and is buried in the grounds of South Presentation Convent in Cork city, in a location which has become a place of prayer and pilgrimage in her honour.
The Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary are in mission in India since 1842. They work in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir.
In Goa, they are located in Orlim, Vasco, Paroda, Reis Magos (Verem) and Nagoa (Bardez).
