Search Results for 'Francis of Assisi'

The exact origins of the Poor Clare Sisters in Galway are not easy to trace. We know there was a convent of Clares, if not Poor Clares, here before 1640, based on an inscription on a headstone which read “Here lieth the body of Elizabeth Lynch, the Foundress of the Order of St. Clare who died 14th December 1626”. James Hardiman describes another headstone inscribed thus: “Here lieth the body of R. Mother Maria Gabriel, alias Helen Martin, first Abbess and religious of the Poor Clares of Galway who died on 14 January aged 68 in religion for 40. Pray for her Soul.” This suggests the nuns were in Galway since 1632 when she entered the order.

If you’ve ever wondered about the significance of the little blue tiles over the doors of some of the older houses in Galway, then wonder no more as a new website launched by the Franciscans and Poor Clares will help shed some light.

If you’ve ever wondered about the significance of the little blue tiles over the doors of some of the older houses in Galway, then wonder no more as a new website launched by the Franciscans and Poor Clares will help shed some light.

A city based enclosed order of nuns has produced a book aimed at calming and nourishing the soul.

When it happens in some parishes dogs, cats, hamsters, and even horses have been known to turn up.

As the enormity of recession hits us, and belts begin to tighten, one glimmer of hope remains in the centre of Galway city. Surrounded by the madness of ordinary life it is easy to forget the ray of light that beams from one of the citys oldest establishments. The occupants may be hidden from view, but the building’s grandeur is certainly not.

In the early 17th century there were no convents of nuns in Ireland or Britain... you had to go to the Continent to become a nun.