OUR ROOTSHonora (Nano) Nagle, born in 1718 at Balygriffin, County Cork was destined to bring fire from the ashes of 200 years of oppression by penal laws. For a short time Nano was a member of the Benedictine convent at Ypres. During her time at Ypres she was haunted by the image of the poor children of her native land and the erosion of the faith of her people.
She returned to Ireland and in 1754 began a school. She did this secretly because the penal laws, which among others things forbade education for Catholics, were still in effect. When her brother discovered what she was doing, he was fearful of the consequences to the entire family if the authorities became aware of Nano’s activity. His wife convinced him to take the risk of supporting Nano and within a year her original 30 students had increased to 200. Within 15 years seven schools established by Nano flourished in Cork.
Her primary focus continued to be teaching because she saw education not only as enhancing the dignity and sense of self-worth of the children but also as the means for overcoming barriers which kept them in poverty. Nevertheless, she engaged in other works as well. She daily visited the sick, the aged, and the incarcerated. In 1783 she built a home for aged and deprived women.
Nano saw the need for a structure for her schools if they were to continue beyond her lifetime and brought the Ursuline Sisters in Cork. The Ursulines were fine educators but their rules did not permit them to give preference to the education of the poor nor to attend to the other works which Nano felt important.
In January of 1775, Nano took a decisive step. She invited two young women who were helpers in her schools to join her in dedicating themselves to the education of the poor and to addressing societal structures which made people poor. Another woman joined the group and on Christmas Eve, 1775, the group began to follow a religious rule of life. They called themselves the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
Nano Nagle died in 1784. (Her legacy of care for the poor and of championship of freedom of religion lives on in the minds and hearts of the Irish people. In 2003 she was named the “greatest Irish person of all time.”) In 1805 the Order was approved by Rome and its name changed to Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Congregation spread throughout Ireland and throughout the world; the first mission outside Ireland was to Newfoundland in 1833.
In response to requests to establish a school in Dakota Territory, Presentation Sisters Mary St. John Hughes and Mary Agnes Hughes left their convents in Dublin and Doneraile and came to the American frontier. They first worked at a mission in what is now South Dakota and came to Fargo July 22, 1882. Four days later St. Joseph’s Academy was in operation.
Over the years The Presentation Sisters of Fargo have administered 15 schools and been on faculty in several others. At one time they operated an orphanage, five hospitals, and a nursing home.
The orphanage is no more. The schools and the health care facilities are now in the hands of others.
The primary ministries of the Sisters have changed but their purpose remains the same: “to stir into flame the gift of God which is within” {II Timothy 1:6-7}. They educate formally and informally, provide emergency foster care, give direct aid to people in need, work to bring about systemic change toward more just social structures, provide counseling and spiritual direction, lead parish activities and organizations, minister to migrant workers, administer adoption services.
November 21 which is the commemoration of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple is the community feast day. The entrance of Nano Nagle into eternal life is celebrated on April 26.
The oak tree has long been the symbol of the Presentation sisters.
From the acorn of Nano’s compassion for the poor and her concern for the Faith has grown a religious congregation with branches in all parts of the world. The lantern also has special meaning to the Sisters of the Presentation. It reminds them of their foundress’ journey through the narrow streets of Cork. It also reminds us of our commitment to reach out in service to others and bring the light of Christ to the world.
As Nano heard the call of the poor down the cloisters at Ypres, today we hear her call:
Take down your lantern from its niche and go out!
You may not rest in firelight certainties
Secure from drifting fog of doubt and fear.
You may not build yourself confining walls
And say: “Thus far, and thus, and thus far shall I walk,
And these things shall I do, and mothering more.”
Go out! For need calls loudly in the winding lanes
And you must seek Christ there.
Your pilgrim heart
Shall urge you still one pace beyond,
And love shall be your lantern flame. (S. Ralphine Considine, 1977)
