Celebrating 100 years in Ireland

As part of our Centennial Year Celebrations a special Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated on Saturday 16th May 2009 in the beautiful setting of a packed Cork Cathedral. The principal celebrant was the Bishop of Cork, Rt Rev Dr John Buckley.

2009 marks 100 years since the MSC established their first foundation in Ireland at Dyke House on the Western Road in Cork city.

The Provincial Superior of the Irish Province, Fr Pat Courtney, and many MSCs representing all six territories of the Irish Province were joined for the occasion by hundreds of friends, benefactors, fellow religious and co-workers.

Celebrating 100 years in Ireland

As part of our Centennial Year Celebrations a special Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated on Saturday 16th May 2009 in the beautiful setting of a packed Cork Cathedral. The principal celebrant was the Bishop of Cork, Rt Rev Dr John Buckley.

2009 marks 100 years since the MSC established their first foundation in Ireland at Dyke House on the Western Road in Cork city.

The Provincial Superior of the Irish Province, Fr Pat Courtney, and many MSCs representing all six territories of the Irish Province (Ireland, England, Southern Africa, Venezuela, Southern USA and Russia) were joined for the occasion by hundreds of friends, benefactors, fellow religious and co-workers.

L-R: Papal Nuncio (Archbishop Leanza), Fr Pat Courtney MSC (Provincial), Fr Arci Abellana MSC (Assistant Superior General)

Special guests included the Lord and Lady Mayoress of Cork, Commandant Michael Treacy (the special representative of the Taoiseach), members of our sister Congregation, The Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the Headmasters of our two MSC-founded Colleges (Sacred Heart College, Carraig na bhFear, Co Cork and Princethorpe College, Warwickshire, England) and MSC representatives of the General Administration in Rome and other Provinces who have had a longstanding relationship of collaboration with the Irish Province. Guest of honour was the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, The Most Rev. Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, who read a special message from Pope Benedict XVI and shared the Pope’s Apostolic Blessing at the end of the Mass.

The liturgy of the Mass was beautifully enhanced with an introductory procession by Friends of Sacred Heart Parish, Western Rd, Cork; liturgical movement by students of Sacred Heart College, carraig na bhFear; and with the music and song of the Cathedral Choir and cantor Séan O Sé.

The Papal Nuncio and Bishop Buckley in the procession at the beginning of Mass

In his introductory words of welcome Fr Pat Courtney said, “As we assemble here today in Cork city we do so following in the footsteps of a great visionary and an intrepid missionary who pioneered our presence in Ireland, namely Fr. Michael Tierney who hailed from Churchtown in North Cork. From the sowing of that seed at the Western Road a very powerful missionary tradition was born, grew and flourished over the years, a beautiful reality came to life, of which we can feel justifiably proud.”

“This is truly a great day for us. We recall our story, our beginning as a religious community/ congregation here in this city in 1909 and indeed we recall the many journeys of outreach beyond our shores undertaken by the members of our religious family since then, in response to our mission to proclaim the good news of God’s love for all peoples. We give thanks to God for what has been achieved; we embrace the present with insight, courage, passion and a listening heart to God’s Spirit and to the needs of our times as we move into unchartered waters for the future, empowered with faith, hope and love.”

The offertory procession led by students of Sacred Heart College, Carraig na bhFear

In his homily, Fr Pádraig Ó Súilleabháin MSC (Parish Priest of Kilmacabea, Leap, Co Cork) had an eye to the present and the future as well as to the past. “Today we gather to celebrate, to thank, to take the opportunity to be nourished and renewed, to acknowledge one another, and to show our appreciation of one another. Past, present and future are not distinct separate eras, but rather a continuous tapestry being woven by the Master Craftsman, with each one of us having the privilege of cooperating with the weaver. We are not just looking back in a nostalgic way, but in a spirit of gratitude, recognising the solid foundation on which our present celebrations are built, and facing the future with trust and confidence in the one who is ever faithful and whose call is ever new."

The Eucharistic Prayer

At the conclusion of the Mass the Papal Nuncio read a special message on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State, Vatican City: “His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was pleased to learn of the celebrations taking place to mark the centenary of the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and he sends his warm greetings to you and to all members of the Province on this joyful occasion. His Holiness gives thanks to Almighty God for the many graces received by the members of the Congregation and the souls to whom they have ministered. The Holy Father prays that this commemoration will be for all the religious of the Province a time of grace and light so that, renewed in their ardent love of the Lord, and imitating his meekness and humility, they may always be intrepid heralds of his gospel in today’s world. As a pledge of strength and joy in the Lord, His Holiness cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing."

To find out more about the Centenary celebration events, including more pictures and full texts of Fr Pat Courtney’s words of greeting, Fr Pádraig Ó Súilleabháin’s homily and the message from the Holy Father, go to the special Centennial Mass page of this website.