Nano Nagle

Nano (Honoria) Nagle (* 1718 in Ballygriffin near Killavullen , County Cork ( Ireland ), † April 26, 1784 in Cork ) was a nun and founded the Roman Catholic congregation of the " Union of Presentation Sisters " on December 24, 1775 in Cork of the Blessed Virgin Mary “, ( Order Abbreviation: PBVM).

Life

Nano Nagle was born into a traditionally conservative Irish Catholic family with four sisters and two brothers. Her parents Garret Nagle and Ann Nagle (née Matthew) were wealthy landowners , whose large estates were grouped around Ballygriffin. Since a conversion to the " Church of England " was not considered (this would have been necessary to start school in Ireland), she was sent to Paris for schooling . After graduating from high school, she returned to Ireland and lived with her mother in Dublin .

The deaths of her father, mother, and sister Ann caused her to return to her native Ballygriffin. Here the desire grew to join the Ursuline order. She decided to join a convention in France because she believed she would be protected against the " Penal Laws ", the anti-Catholic laws in Ireland.

She devoted her whole life to the Catholic education of children. She lived in personal poverty and showed no consideration for her body. After a short and serious illness, she died on April 26, 1784. Her last words were: "Donate yourself for the poor".

vocation

In 1775 she began her novitiate for a consecrated life in a French Ursuline convent . On June 29, 1776, she received her habit and on June 24, 1777, she made her one-year solemn vows . In the middle of 1777 Sister Honoria, as she was now called, returned to Ireland and opened the first Catholic school, a so-called hedge school, in her home town . The operation had to remain secret from the Irish rule; the lessons therefore mostly took place in the evening and at night. Nano Nagle was soon nicknamed "Woman with the Lantern" because she visited the poor in the towns at night and after work. In quick succession, she built two girls 'schools and five boys' schools in County Cork .

On Christmas Day 1777 she founded the first convent in Ireland under the name Mother Mary of St. John of God , the resulting order was initially called Sisters of the Charitable Instruction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus . The name of the order was later changed to Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sisters of the Offering of the Blessed Virgin Mary ). Mary's entry into the temple in Jerusalem was a spiritual favorite thought of Nana Nagle. The popular name became "Presentation Sisters".

Honors

Worldwide she became the namesake for schools and poor institutions. In 1985, a bridge over the River Lee was named after her in Cork . In 2003 she was named the Most Great Irish Person of All Time in Ireland, and in 2005 she was named third. The Irish Post issued two special stamps to mark the 200th year of the religious foundation . Historically, she is also classified in the series of women fighters.

See also

• Edmund Ignatius Rice
• Christian Brothers

Web links

• Nano Nagle on the website of their order (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nano Nagle Bridge [1]
2. ↑ Most important person in Ireland [2] , archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ From Wave to Flood - The Development of the Irish Women's Movement, 1870-1990 ( PDF )