Nov 6, 2017
The 2017 Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award was awarded to Sr Orla Treacy, a Loreto Sister working in South Sudan. Sr Orla, from Bray, Co Wicklow, was presented with the award by Cllr Niall Kelleher, Mayor of Killarney Municipal Authority on Saturday 04th November at an award ceremony which was held in the Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney.
Sr Orla with pupils at Loreto Secondary School Rumbek
Born in 1973, when she was two years old, her family moved to Tralee where her father Blaise Treacy took up the position of Kerry County Secretary.
She was educated initially at Presentation Convent Tralee until at the age of 6 when her family moved to Bray, Co.Wicklow, where she attended Loreto in Bray, completing her Leaving Cert in 1991. Having studied at the Mater Dei Institute she subsequently taught in Presentation College Cork, Loreto Letterkenny, St Muredach’s Ballina and Loreto Crumlin.
Having spent a summer in India with the Loreto sisters, at the age of 24 she decided to join the congregation. Based at the Loreto convent in Rathfarnham, she was professed as a Loreto nun in September 2005. A year later she headed to Sudan with four other Loreto nuns to establish a mission in a diocese the size of Italy with just two secondary schools.
She has spent the last 11 years in Sudan, experiencing the trauma of South Sudan becoming an autonomous independent state in 2011 which was followed by civil war in 2013. Today, South Sudan is widely considered one of the most fragile states in the world with continuing conflict and unrest. The violence has resulted in the displacement of thousands of people and has stunted the progress of this young country. Lakes State has become home to many displaced people.
Sr. Orla is the Principal of Loreto Secondary School in Rumbek in Lakes State which has 200 girl students who are boarders because it is too dangerous for them to travel long distances to and from the school. Adopting the missionary holistic approach, Sr. Orla and her team give responsibility to the girls, for example, tasks like looking after their class, equipment, the farm or animals, or looking after the young students in the primary school, or measuring the food or organising the dining room. The adjacent Loreto Primary School has 500 pupils but could have 1,000 if they had the accommodation.
Chairperson of the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Committee, Jerry O’Grady said: “Sr Orla possesses and displays the bravery and humanitarian commitment we have come to associate with the recipients of this award. At a young age and with a bright future ahead of her in Ireland, she decided instead to dedicate her life to those in need in what was already then a virtual war zone”
When told that she had been selected for the Hugh O’Flaherty Humanitarian Award, Sr Orla said: “The work of Mgr Hugh O’Flaherty has inspired so many in their fight against injustice and for the protection of vulnerable populations. I am genuinely very humbled to receive this award. On behalf of Loreto Sisters, our supporters, and all our staff at Loreto Rumbek South Sudan, I graciously accept this honour. The girls and young people we work with fill us with hope for a better future for this country.”
Congratulations Sr Orla on receipt of this prestigious award, truly well deserved!
What is the Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award?
Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty (1898 – 1963)
This year marks the tenth year of the memorial commemoration of the Monsignor which is organised to raise awareness of the humanitarian work carried he carried out during World War II. Together with his colleagues in the Rome Escape Line, he saved over 6,500 people from the clutches of the Nazis who had occupied Rome at the time. In October 2013 – the 50th anniversary of the Monsignor’s death – a permanent memorial to him was unveiled in Killarney town centre. The memorial is a life-size sculpture of him by Valentia based artist, Alan Ryan Hall. In May 2016, a plaque commemorating him was unveiled at the German College, Vatican City, Rome where he lived from 1938 until 1960 and from where he organised the Rome Escape Line.
Hugh O’Flaherty was awarded the highest honours including a CBE, the Congressional Medal of Freedom, and was the first Irish man named Notary of the Holy Office. When he died in 1963, his death was mourned throughout the world, including a personal tribute in the New York Times. The Gregory Peck film – The Scarlet and the Black – featured his life, as does the book – The Vatican Pimpernel – written by Brian Fleming.
The Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Society
In 2008, the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Society was formed in his home town of Killarney. It was decided we should honour his memory by acknowledging his humanitarian works during the 1930’s in Haiti & San Domingo and the early 1940’s during World War II in Rome. He was posthumously awarded the inaugural Killarney International Humanitarian Award. It was presented to members of his extended family at a special ceremony in Killarney on 15 November 2008. At this ceremony, it was announced that from then on, the award would be known as the Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award and would be presented annually to worthy recipients.
Information sourced from hughoflaherty.com and independentcatholicnews.com.
Photo courtesy of Paul Jeffrey/Loreto Sisters.
Nov 3, 2017
During, what was described by Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter MSC as, “a very warm and informal Papal Audience”, our new Provincial Leader had the honor of personally meeting Pope Francis himself.
Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter MSC with Pope Francis at the private MSC Audience in Rome, September 2017.
Fr Carl commented on how the MSC brotherhood were both encouraged and challenged by the Holy Fathers’ words, “Return to your first and only love. Keep your gaze fixed on Jesus Christ and learn from him how to love with a truly human heart, to care for the lost and hurting members of his flock, to work for justice and show solidarity with the weak and the poor. Learn from him to give hope and dignity to the destitute, and to go forth to all those places where people are in need of acceptance and assistance. This is the first Gospel that the Church entrusts to you by sending you out as missionaries to the world: to show by your lives and by your works the passionate and tender love of God fro the little ones, the underprivileged, the vulnerable and those who the world has disregarded.
May your common life be marked by the true fraternity, which welcomes diversity and values the gifts of all. Do not hesitate to continue and expand your communion with the lay persons who participate in your apostolate. Let them share in your ideals and projects, and in the rich spirituality arising from your institute’s charism. With them, and with the sisters of your female congregations, you will form an ever greater and stronger “charismatic family”, one that will better demonstrate the vitality and relevance of your founder’s charism.”
Fr Carl noted how Pope Francis’ words beautifully capture and crystallise the MSC mission to the world, the MSC brotherhood with each other, and their partnership within Chevalier Family: “to be on earth the heart of God”.
“This personal exhortation of Pope Francis to us as MSC, together with the orientations and priorities that have emerged from both our Provincial and General Chapters, offer a direction for our common journeying over the coming six years.” – Fr Carl Tranter, Irish Provincial Superior
MSC Private Audience with Pope Francis, September 2017.
Sep 20, 2017
“Return to your first and only love,” said Pope Francis last Saturday, 16th September, during a private audience between his Holiness and the members of the 2017 General Chapter of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. In an uplifting, yet profoundly challenging address the Pope stated that as missionaries we are called to keep our “gaze fixed on Jesus Christ and learn from Him how to truly love with a human heart, to care for the lost and hurting members of his flock, to work for justice and show solidarity with the weak and poor.”
Pope Francis greets Fr. Paco Blanco MSC, an old firend from Argentina.
He was speaking to a group ready and open to hear his message. As we arrived that morning for the audience you couldn’t help but be awed by the surroundings of the Vatican buildings. Designed to impress, they did just that. However, in contrast to the stateliness of the architecture, the beauty of the frescos, and the livery of the Swiss Guard, Pope Francis comes across as a simple man. He entered in a low key way, smiling and acknowledging with gratitude the presence of missionaries from all around the world. It was clear he was a little tired, but he has a sense of authenticity and simplicity of presence that is both difficult to describe and utterly unforgettable. He was particularly enthused to meet an old friend of his, Fr. Paco Blanco MSC, the Provincial of our Spanish Province with whom he worked in Argentina. (more…)
Aug 22, 2017
In August 2017, the Venezuelan Community in Ireland reached out to Fr Joseph McGee MSC, who at the time was the Irish Provincial Leader, to thank the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for our ongoing ministry in Venezuela, and to ask for our continued prayers as this troubled country looks to the future with hope.
In the summer of 2017 the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart marked 50 years of ministry in Venezuela, and our MSC missionaries are currently the only Irish priests working to help local people in the region in the midst of this humanitarian crisis. In honour of our Golden Jubilee, this summer Fr Joseph visited our MSC missions in Venezuela and was struck by the conditions that local people are forced to endure on a daily basis.
“Despite the chaos and misery that is in our country today,” writes the Venezuelan Community, “we have been blessed by having these priests adopting our homeland as their second home and providing their help and support in the cities of Maracaibo and Caracas.”
“It is important for us to let all the family of the Sacred Heart know how priceless is the sacrifice and commitment that you are demonstrating by staying there against the backdrop of conflict,” continues the letter.
Venezuela is currently in a critical state, with severe food and medical shortages just the tip of the iceberg as the country struggles with social, economic, and political chaos. The Venezuelan Community in Ireland send their gratitude for the support of our MSCs and our mission friends across the world:
“A special word of thank you for not leaving our people and for supporting them with your pastoral work. In moments like this, all help is needed, but we firmly trust that if we continue believing in the mercy of God, this terrible moment will pass very soon.”
“Together, we are stronger and better. Please do not forget Venezuela.”
Aug 9, 2017
The Commission was a project that came from a group of people with a passion for university mission in the UK. Originally piloted in Richmond 2016 (then Student Leadership Training), The Commission was a huge success among the seventy students who attended. They went away after three days with a new found enthusiasm and skill set for modern day discipleship on campus!
In 2017, it went to the next level. From the 9th until the 12th of July, the Commission was held in St Mary’s University in Twickenham, featuring speakers from the FOCUS college evangelisation team from the US.
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) are a group inspired and conceived from Saint John Paul II’s call to “New Evangelisation”. Their mission is to simply live the great commission which Jesus instructed through student outreach on university campuses. Using tools they have developed specifically for the evangelisation of young people, FOCUS now have over 500 missionaries on 100 campuses in 36 of the United States of America. (more…)
Aug 8, 2017
The summer of 2017 marked 50 years since the first MSC mission began in Venezuela.
Today, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are the only Irish priests working in this turbulent region, where social and political turmoil mean that daily life is fraught with danger and suffering for local people.
MSCs bring the message of God’s love to the homes and hearts of the people
In June of 2017, Irish and Venezuelan MSCs joined together with local parishioners in Maracaibo and Caracas to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Venezuelan mission, which began in 1967. Celebratory Masses took place across the region, with a special outdoor ceremony in the parish of La Santa Cruz, Caracas, on June 17th.
An altar was set up outside the parish church in order to accommodate the large crowds in attendance, reflecting the true essence of the MSC mission: to make God’s love known everywhere, and to everyone. Our mission is not limited to the church or the sacristy – our missionaries bring the message of God’s love to the homes and hearts of the people, no matter where they may be.
The Jubilee celebrations also commemorated Fr Joe Ruddy MSC, who is retiring from the Venezuelan mission after 50 years of dedication and service. In 1967, Fr Joe arrived in Venezuela with three Irish MSCs: Fr Eamonn Donoghue, Fr Vincent Screene, and Fr Tony Moran. Since then, Fr Joe and a growing community of MSC brothers have gone up into the hills and out into the streets of the barrios to minister to parishioners living in the slums, helping local people to take pride in their parishes as they work together with a renewed sense of unity and co-operation.
Looking to the future with hope
Today, Venezuela is a troubled land, one where poverty, hardship, and social and political unrest motivate young Venezuelans to go abroad to create better lives for themselves. During this time of great disorder and uncertainty, the MSC Golden Jubilee celebrations offered missionaries and locals alike the opportunity for reflection on the achievements that have been accomplished over the last 50 years, and hope for better things to come in the years ahead.
During his time as Irish Provincial Leader, Fr Joseph McGee MSC visited Maraciabo and Caracas to take part in the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Read more about his thoughts on our Venezuelan mission here.
PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE OUR VITAL WORK IN VENEZUELA
