The Sisters of the Holy Faith is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
religious congregation, originally for the care of Catholic orphans. It now works broadly in the areas of education and faith development. The congregation is part of the Vincentian family.
History
It was founded in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, in 1857, by
Margaret Aylward, under the direction of Rev. John Gowan, C.M., from the St. Peter's Vincentian Community in
Phibsboro, Dublin.
The foundress was called a confessor of the Faith by
Pope Pius IX, because of the imprisonment of six months she endured. She was convicted of
contempt of court, but acquitted of a charge of
kidnapping, after having refused to produce and return an abandoned child to its mother.
The congregation is especially active in the
Archdiocese of Dublin, the residence of the superior general being at
Glasnevin
Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...
, where the sisters conducted a boarding-school for young ladies. The Glasnevin establishment no longer has a boarding school; the order's archives are stored and maintained here, and the order now has a nursing home, ''Marian House'', on the Glasnevin campus.
The original foundation was St. Brigid's Orphanage, Dublin, where over 3000 orphans were accommodated and trained.
Activities
The order's ministry is in education, faith development and the promotion of justice. They set up and run a number of primary and secondary schools primarily in Dublin. Today the order works in Ireland, United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and South Sudan.
The Holy Faith sisters in collaboration with the
Saint Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions (Kiltegan Fathers), in 2013, worked to set up a primary school in Riwoto, South Sudan.
[Republic of South Sudan](_blank)
St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions
''The St. Johns Education Centre'' is an initiative established in 1999 by the Holy Faith Sisters and
De La Salle Brothers, to help students at risk of dropping out of the education system.
''The Margaret Aylward Centre for Faith and Dialogue'' was built on the grounds of the Holy Faith Convent, in Glasnevin, in 2014 it held its inaugural lecture. The centre is used for conferences, meetings, retreats, lectures and courses.
Schools
The order's schools in Ireland are part of
The Le Cheile Schools Trust:
* St. Michael's Holy Faith Finglas
* St David's Holy Faith
* St. Brigids National School, Killester
*
Holy Faith Secondary School, Clontarf
Holy Faith Secondary School, Clontarf is a girls' voluntary second level school in Clontarf on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Founded by the Holy Faith Sisters in 1890, and originally providing both primary (mixed sex) and secondary educati ...
* St. Mary's Holy Faith Glasnevin (Secondary School)
* St. Mary's Holy Faith Killester (Secondary School)
* Margaret Aylward School (founded by order in 1969 transferred to Dublin VEC in 1983)
* Mother of Divine Grace, Primary School, Ballygall, Glasnevin, Dublin 11.
* St Wolstan’s Community School, Ballymakealy, Clane Road, Celbridge, Co. Kildare (with Archdiocese of Dublin and Kildare Kildare Wicklow ETB)
* Tallaght Community School, Balrothery, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (with Marist Brothers and County Dublin DDLETB)
Tallaght Community School
/ref>
* Holy Faith Convent of Trinidad and Tobago
Notes
References
* This entity cites:
**''Irish Directory'' (1909)
External links
Official Home Page
{{Authority control
Catholic female orders and societies
Catholic teaching orders
Religious organizations established in 1857
Religious institutes in the Vincentian tradition