By Sarah Mac Donald - 30 November, 2013
Bishop Brendan Leahy. Picture Courtesy Keith Wiseman / The Limerick Leader
Bishop Brendan Leahy has paid tribute to the Presentation Sisters and their Limerick school in educating women to carry very important roles in the city and beyond.
On a visit to Presentation Secondary School in Limerick during the week, the Bishop also honoured the legacy of Nano Nagle, who founded the Presentation Sisters.
He told the Limerick Leader newspaper, “She set up the Presentation Sisters and she taught people at a time in Ireland where there was a lot of need.”
He continued, “She had the vision to do it and also the practical sense of how to do it. It wasn’t always easy for her but she kept going. As a result, there is a huge inheritance in Ireland and also here in Limerick.”
Bishop Leahy was joined by members of the Presentation Sisters, teachers and students of the school to mark its 125 years in the city.
They also celebrated the recent recognition of Nano Nagle as Venerable by the Vatican, the first step on the road to sainthood.
An indication of the increasing diversity within the school in recent years was the incorporation of Prayers of the Faithful in Irish, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Congolese French and Thai at the Mass which was celebrated by Bishop Leahy.
He told the assembled students and staff, “Diversity is a great gift. It means you can know and get to learn about other people and their ways, their traditions and their culture. It can also expand your perspective, and I think that’s an absolute gift.”
