HAPPY PRESENTATION DAY

It is 21 November, Presentation Day. Once again my thoughts spin back through the years (many, many years now 😏)!  My thoughts go back to our school days at St Patrick's Convent Schools and our days spent with Nano Nagle's Presentation Sisters, PBVMs.  To the stories of Nano and her little group who ministered to and cared for the poor. Stories of the establishment of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and how, in 1833, four brave and selfless Irish Nuns set out from their Convent in Galway.  After a stormy Atlantic Crossing they landed at St John's, Newfoundland, and there they established the very first Presentation Convent outside of Ireland.   

I imagine, like me, you remember all or most of the stories but if you would like to refresh your memory, you will find quite a few posts to  help.  Just go to that little search box on the top left side of the blog and enter either 'Nano Nagle' or 'Presentation Day'.  You will find enough to keep you reading for a little while.

Nano Nagle

Happy Presentation Day to Presentation Sisters, pupils and former pupils everywhere.  A very special Happy Presentation Day to all St Patrick's girls, wherever you may be.

NOVEMBER 21, PRESENTATIION DAY

Today, 21 November, is the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the temple at Jerusalem or as we know it, Presentation Day.  It is a day that is special to Presentation Sisters all over the world.  It is special to St Patrick's girls and boys too because it was the Sisters of the Presentation who established St Patrick's Convent School and taught there for well over one hundred years.  (Some of us can even remember when Presentation Day meant a holiday from school!)  

The school closed in 1999, but although many years have passed since we sat in the desks at St Patrick's, those days and the Sisters continue to influence our lives. 

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on 21 November by the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, and by some Anglo-Catholic Churches. The account of the Presentation of Our Lady into the temple is based on the Protoevangelium of St James.  The Protoevangelium has been dated by historians prior to the year 200 AD. It relates that in thanksgiving for the birth of their daughter, Joachim and Anne decided to consecrate her to God. When the child was three years old, her parents brought her to Jersusalem where she was presented in the temple.

Dolls depicting how the PBVMs used to look

That the Sisters of the Presentation are no longer a presence in our Parish is sad.  The contribution of the PBVMs to St Patrick's School, Church, and Parish is immeasurable. The whole of the West End of our beloved City is better for their coming.