The weekend of November 13-16, 2025, was very special for two women’s religious communities in Ireland. At the invitation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara on Ireland’s west coast, 20 Presentation Sisters from around the country arrived for a combined retreat and gathering to renew friendships and explore future collaborations.
According to Mother Karol O’Connell, Benedictine abbess, the occasion not only marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Presentation Sisters by Nano Nagle on December 24, 1775, in Cork, but also was an expression of gratitude for the contribution made by Presentation Sisters in education over many decades, especially since Mother Karol was taught by Presentation Sisters as a youngster, along with other Benedictines at Kylemore.
Joining the Benedictines for prayer, meals and recreation, the Presentation Sisters also shared their novena in anticipation of the Feast of the Presentation on November 21. The Presentation Sisters had an opportunity to visit the Benedictines’ chocolate kitchen, sampling sweet treats, and the soapery, where the variety of scented soaps help support the Benedictine monastery.
Another link between the two communities: Nano Nagle was a student for six years at the Benedictine monastery of Ypres, Belgium, during the 18th century. The Kylemore community was established from Ypres after the Sisters fled Belgium in the early days of World War I. Sister Mary T. O’Brien, PVBM, gave a presentation on this historical connection, and the Benedictines’ devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, which influenced charism Nagle imbued in her new community.
To commemorate the weekend, the Benedictines and Presentation Sisters planted two seedlings side-by-side in front of the new monastery, adding to the hopes and joys shared by both communities for the present and into the future.