The 1609 Celebration of Loreto Education

Mary Ward Week 2009

Mary Ward and Portmarnock Community School

What is the connection?

� The Loreto Sisters are Trustees of Portmarnock Community School along with County Dublin VEC and the Archbishop of Dublin

� Trustees have many responsibilities including ‘ethos’

� Ethos – the distinctive spirit of a group

Freedom, Justice, Sincerity, Joy

Who was Mary Ward?

� An English-woman Born 1585 Died 1645

� From a Catholic family of great faith� Lived during turbulent times for Catholics in

England as the Reformation took place

Mary Ward

� Had several offers of marriage

� Felt ‘drawn by another’ way of religious-life involving women and education

� Gathered together a group of women of like mind

� Women of Faith

“Women in time to come, will do much”

Nuns – women who dedicated their lives to God

� Nuns different for their time

� Mary Ward wanted her ‘sisters’ to educate the daughters of the rich who in turn would use their education to help the poor

� She did not want her sisters enclosed or wearing religious dress

� This difference was not appreciated by the Catholic Church of the time

� Mary Ward and was imprisoned for constantly challenging the hierarchical church

� She was not appreciated for encouraging women to think for themselves

1609

� She moved to France in 1609 where she got an opportunity to open the first school

� It was a school of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary

� The school was in St. Omer , just across the English Channel

1609 - 2009

� We celebrate 400 years of education in the tradition of Mary Ward this year

� Ireland:18 Secondary Schools 7 Primary / Junior Schools 5 Community Schools (as Trustees)

Freedom, Justice, Sincerity, Joy

We pray for Freedom

Lord, we pray that in the true spirit of Mary Ward each one of us may have the desire to be men and women of freedom – a freedom that will help us to think for ourselves as individuals with the courage to stand on our own two feet.

We pray for Justice

Lord, we pray that the opportunities we continue to receive through our education here in Portmarnock may make us men and women who act in a spirit of justice and good living

We pray for Sincerity

“Be as you appear to be and appear to be as you are” was one of Mary Ward’s sayings. We pray that we may live lives of sincerity in all that we say and do as teachers and students.

We pray for Joy

� We pray that as we unite tomorrow with all Loreto schools we may experience a great sense of joy in being part of the Mary Ward tradition