A modest but bold proposal: American missionaries to Ireland

I'm not Irish, but I live in Ireland. According to the best of family records, not a single member of my family — on either side — has ever lived in Ireland. I've had the privilege of living here three times. Sept. 1, 2021, marks the fifth anniversary of my congregation's convent in Waterford City, Ireland, where I am now living.

Why did my community establish a convent in Ireland — "the Land of Saints and Scholars"? Surely another country, another U.S. city, needed sisters more, many might say. After all, Ireland is Catholic. While once known for its deeply religious roots, Ireland has seen a dramatic decrease in the practice of the Catholic faith in the last few decades.

Yet, this was not always the case. We know that the history of the church in the United States is a story intertwined with the story of the immigrant. In the early years, religious communities from all parts of Europe sent sisters to America and across the globe to serve the needs of the fledgling church.

My own religious community, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, followed the Italian diaspora, sending missionaries to Brazil and the United States at the start of the 20th century. In the century prior, St. Theodore Guerin went from France to the woods of southern Indiana to serve the needs of the immigrant farming community in the Midwest. German Dominican nuns settled in New York and evolved from a contemplative community to an active congregation. Their efforts, though perhaps modest at the start, were driven by a bold desire to share the Gospel.

Regardless of country of origin, there was a time in U.S. Catholic history when many religious communities' novitiates were filled with Irish women. In the decade including and following the Potato Famine, approximately two million Irish immigrated to the United States. The vast majority were women. With them, they brought their faith. They raised Catholic families, built new parishes and schools. And, they entered religious life. From their humble beginnings, they have truly left a lasting legacy on the landscape of our church.

Then there's my own American Catholic history. Two of the pastors I knew while growing up were natives of Ireland. On more than one occasion, I caught myself listening to their brogues rather than to the content of their homilies. In college, I came to Ireland for a year as a study abroad student. Living in Ireland showed me the world in a whole new light. It was the middle of the Irish economic boom called the Celtic Tiger and the euro had only just been introduced. To steep ourselves in history, we toured ancient, medieval and modern sites. It was a marvelous, life-changing year immersed in a new (for me) culture. No sooner did I leave than I wanted to return!

In the decade after college, I discerned a vocation to religious life and made peace with the idea that my globetrotting days were over. I said slán to the thought of returning to Ireland. But, ours is a God of surprises! You can imagine my excitement when my religious superiors invited me to come to Ireland in August 2015 to attend a retreat for young adults.

The visit to Ireland was a response to a deeper question: How could we give back to the Irish church for all they have given to us? As a province, we reflected on the Holy Spirit's whispers and the movements of our hearts. So many of us named priests and religious who came to the United States as missionaries to share the Gospel in every cornfield, city and suburb. They were our teachers, our pastors, our co-workers. We spoke gratefully of their service and dedication. All the while, the doubts were there too. We didn't have the numbers. We couldn't possibly open any new convents.