It is with great sadness that the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart announces that we intend closing Grace Dieu Manor Retreat and Conference Centre in Waterford from September 2011.

This decision has been taken following a process of review of all of our ministry activities throughout the Province, which serves the work of the Catholic Church not just in Ireland and England, but also in Venezuela, South Africa and Russia as well as the southern states of the U.S.A.

The review process of our ministries in England and Ireland took place over the past 18 months and was conducted with independent external assistance. This involved consultation with our members in Ireland and England and was a rigorous and extensive procedure.

We want to thank all of those who have availed of our facilities in Grace Dieu over the past almost 30 years and assure them that we will be remaining open until September 2011 – more than 15 months away.

We are profoundly grateful for the support of the local community in Waterford, including the local bishop, the priests and people of the diocese, as well as the many Religious who have given their support through the years.

We also wish to pay a special tribute to the wonderful service of our staff at Grace Dieu over many years.

Our decisions have been based on a number of factors, the most significant of which is the shortage of MSC personnel to staff the commitments that we have in many different ministries. The combination of a shortage of new entrants to our Congregation and the aging of our existing membership, leads to an inevitable recognition that we can no longer serve all the work that we once undertook.

We are conscious of the impact of our decision on many people, not least our current retreat and house staff, many MSCs and retreat leaders who have worked at Grace Dieu over the years, and those who have regularly availed of the varied programes on offer. We are immensely grateful to everyone who has contributed to the reputation of this great retreat centre.