Celebrating 250 years of Prayer and Service
One Pace Beyond
Take down your lantern from its niche and go out!
You may not dwell 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 nothing 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.
– Raphael Consedine, PBVM
Our Foundation
On Christmas Eve, 1775, in Cork, Ireland, Nano Nagle founded the Presentation Sisters.
Joined by three other inspirational women, Mary Ann Collins, Mary Fuohy and Elizabeth Burke, Nano wanted this religious community to be apostolic, for their Sisters to “go out” into the streets and alleyways, bringing education, healing and love to those in the margins of society.
To highlight their work, Nano and her other Sisters, invited Cork’s poorest people to a dinner on Christmas Eve. This compassionate work symbolizes their mission and charism, to bring light and hope to all.
Nano’s journey was not an easy, straight, and narrow path, but one filled with despair, heart break and winding lanes. But Nano persevered. She stood firm in her faith and fought for what was right and just and her loving traits live on through her many daughters today.
