The Josephites with joy in their hearts left their warm houses, wrapped up in coats, gloves and hats and of course carrying umbrellas all heading for Charleville in North County Cork for their final celebration of the canonisation of St Mary MacKillop. The Charleville and Banogue communities welcomed the train travellers and drove them to join their sister-travellers at the Charleville Park Hotel for the 12.30 celebratory lunch.
After the experience in Rome and the television coverage the welcome-ritual is now almost as globally recognisable as the New Zealand Haka!
Some of the Josephite Sisters celebrating in Charleville in 2010 (L to R): Julie Joyce, Sarah Hogan, Ellen Lane, Margaret O’Sullivanj, Eileen King, Eileen Kearney-O Connor, Briege Buckley, Mary Hegarty-Higgins and Mary Beecher-Convery.
The celebratory meal ended too quickly as the travellers had to leave at 2.30pm to catch trains however they went happily energised by spending time with each other and each carrying with them the beautiful souvenir of the canonisation, the Mary MacKillop paperweight.
The Irish Josephites returned to their convents to hibernate like the squirrels planning to re-emerge in Spring bright-eyed and bushy-tailed all ready for the 2011 jubilee celebrations and gathering at Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. And so ended the Irish Region’s celebrations to honour the canonisation of St Mary MacKillop.
For Charleville Josephite Community, contact: Sr. Maura Murphy: 063/81205
