Today, St Brigid’s Day, marks the 200th anniversary of the Brigidine Order.‘It is a very emotional time,’ Sr Mary Minehan, told CInews. ‘Over the last few days I have been in tears several times, thinking of all those who were part of the journey with us – the sisters, the pupils at our schools and our co-workers.’
Marking the event, at 12.00 noon today, President Mary McAleese will attend a special Mass at the Church of the Most Holy Rosary, in Tullow celebrated by Bishop of Kildare, Dr James Moriarty and afterwards she will plant an oak sapling in the convent grounds.
The Brigidine Order began against the background of the penal days in Ireland. Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Daniel Delaney, understood the need for education and for a revitalisation of the faith. He gathered together a small group of six women in Tullow. Aged between 25 and 48 they had little learning, but were trained by lay women.
‘On the first of February 1807, Bishop Daniel Delaney planted an oak sapling, at the foundation of the order. He didn’t see us as a new congregation, but the restoration of an ancient order of St Brigid of Kildare. The sapling that President McAleese will plant, came from an acorn from that same tree, so it is deeply symbolic,’ said Sr Mary Minehan.
Since its foundation, 1,709 sisters have served in the Brigidine Order. Today there are 380 sisters in Ireland, Britain, Kenya, the United States, China, Australia and New Zealand, in over fifty convents.
The order was born through reading in the signs of the times the need for education, which is still a key part of its work, but today the sisters are also involved in justice and ecology projects and work against human trafficking.
‘In particular nowadays we accompany people searching for a spirituality that is relevant for today,’ said Sr Minehan, who noted that more lay people are becoming involved in their work.
When the fledgling congregation began, Bishop Delany placed it under the patronage of Our Lady and St. Brigid and he planted a sapling from the oak at Brigid's abbey in Kildare as a sign that the work begun by Brigid had sprouted again.
Today after the 12.00 Mass, President McAleese will plant another sapling oak. Afterwards the public are invited to join the Brigidines for a light lunch.
‘Like Brigid, we trust the pot will be replenished!’
This afternoon Finnuala Gill will give a recital on her harp, and the day ends with a concert featuring Nóirín Ní Riain and guests in St Brigid’s Parish Church in Kildare.
Today’s events are part of the Féile Bhríde festival, which started last Friday and runs until Saturday. It has included such events as a drumming workshop, an AFRI Justice and Peace Conference on human trafficking and food security, a céilí, an outdoor celebration of the Eucharist at St Brigid’s Well, the Annual Celtic Lecture, and craft workshops on the weaving of St Brigid’s crosses. The festival concludes on Saturday with a seminar led by well-known author and poet John O'Donohue and featuring Luka Bloom.
The earliest account of the life of St Brigid, the Vita Brigitae ('Life of Brigid') was written by Cogitosus, who may have been a Brigidine monk in Kildare in the second half of the 7th century. In the life, the main emphasis is on Brigid's faith, her healing powers, her skill with animals, her hospitality, her generosity and, especially, her concern for the poor.
The daughter of a chieftain named Dubhthach, and a Christian bondswoman, Brocessa, she is believed to have been born in 453.
Refusing many good offers of marriage, Brigid became a nun and travelled extensively in Ireland, attracting many young women from noble families to follow her. Ultimately she established her convent under a large oak tree - the famous convent of Cill-Dara, that is, 'the church of the oak'.
Her small oratory at Cill-Dara became a centre of religion and learning, and developed into a cathedral city. She founded two monastic institutions, one for men, and the other for women. St Brigid herself was Abbess and was leader to both the men and women, while St. Conleth, the first bishop of Kildare was their spiritual pastor.
She was known as a woman of generosity and many little miracles are attributed to her great faith, as when as a child she gave away all the milk in the home dairy to the poor, only to see it mysteriously re-appear.
She died shortly after her 70th birthday.
Prayer to St Brigid
Brigid
You were a woman of peace.
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light to the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious,and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.Amen
Prayer as you're lighting a candle:
Brigid defend me, Michael defend me, Mary defend me, by land and by sea. Amen
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