Ministry

Our contemplative stance is part of our way of being engaged in life and ministry and at the same time holding Sacred Space for our world. That stance also finds us exploring, inviting and engaging with others in a variety of contemplative traditions in keeping with a spirituality of communion with all of Life as ONE. 

Located in Barachois Brook, in western NL, this former private residence had been re-purposed as a place of peace and healing for all, fostering a spirituality of peace, justice and reverence for the whole of Creation. Those who came always found warm hospitality, and a listening, supportive, welcoming presence.

The Nano Nagle Spirituality Centre has a spacious garden with convenient access to walking trails and the ocean, as well as a guest bedroom and adjoining kitchenette for visitors. The Centre offered quiet space for reading and reflection; areas for discussion groups and keynote speakers; care and support for those pursuing self-care, self-understanding and positive decision-making in challenging times; and a wealth of helpful resources (books, and audio/video recordings) that visitors may borrow.

Those who ministered here support guests’ self-care and self-actualization through spiritual guidance, days of prayer and reflection, and health and wellness workshops.

Virginia Water Contemplative Centre is located on the edge of the city in St. John’s, NL. This is a space of welcome and hospitality where we gather to honour and celebrate the sacredness of all creation. We are a Centre dedicated to the nurturing and wellness of the whole Earth community as articulated through The Universe Story which fosters the reverence, sacredness, value, interconnection, and communion of all of Life.

The mission of the Centre is rooted in fidelity to the evolving Universe Story, The Earth Charter and the mission of the International Presentation Association (IPA) to “speak and act in partnership with others for global justice from a contemplative stance in a spirit of oneness with the whole of creation”.

We are dedicated to creating supportive community. We invite you to join us in a variety of learning opportunities and Sharing Circles that are founded in silence, contemplative listening, and respectful dialogue. We offer a variety of earth-based rituals and contemplative practices that guide us on our unfolding spiritual journeys.

Guided by The Universe Story, we seek to deepen oiur connectedness, communion and interdependence with all that exists.

As Sisters of the Presentation of Newfoundland & Labrador we are called to joyfully and generously serve God and God’s people, with special attentiveness to the Earth and those made poor.

Ever mindful that justice is said to have two feet, charity and action, our Sisters answer this call through initiating, implementing and engaging in initiatives, often collaboratively, that support an ecology of peace and justice wherein everyone can access equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. We endeavour to respond with initiatives that are increasingly global, multi-cultural and inter-generational. Some of these social justice initiatives are highlighted below; some are community partnerships, others involve gifted properties that have been repurposed to meet a clearly identified pressing need, and some a combination of both; some are more global; all are most certainly collaborative ventures.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015 by all United Nations Member States as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The 17 SDGs represent an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

In 1980, in response to a request from our NL Provincial Health and Social Services and Child Welfare Departments, our convent at “50 Bonaventure” in St. John’s temporarily transitioned from being a residence for our Sisters to being An Emergency Children’s Shelter that would serve as “home” to children who were temporarily in the care of Social Services.  Children arrived at our doors anytime of day or night, ages ranging anywhere from days old to mid-teens, their intended stay being days, weeks, months, or longer, until they could be returned to families, or placed in Foster Care. It was a whole new world! While still owning the building, our Sisters served as administrators as well as staff and volunteers, along with other staff and volunteers.

As the need grew and the space at 50 Bonaventure was no longer adequate, we moved the Children’s Shelter to the main part of one of our other larger convents known as “Mary Queen of the World”, on 799 Topsail Road, just on the edge of the city.  Our other Sisters continued to live in the Convent “apartment” that had previously been added on. Times changed, needs changed, Social Services Programs changed, and the need would be addressed in other ways. The Children’s Shelter setting transitioned back once again to being a residence for our Sisters.

The Gathering Place, a former Mercy convent and school in the downtown core of St. John’s, was established in 1994 by the Sisters of Mercy and the Presentation Sisters in response to the needs of those seeking food. Both Congregations came together to provide a place of welcome for people who were cold, hungry and often unemployed and homeless or living in less than desirable conditions, and lacking adequate social, emotional and financial resources.

On 31 December 2022, the NL Province of Presentation Sisters will discontinue their formal role in governance of The Gathering Place but will continue to give financial support to this valuable ministry among the most vulnerable in our society.

You are invited to visit the Gathering Place Website and Facebook page for more information about programs and operations, and the many ways you or groups you belong may become involved or offer support.

In November 2016, as we celebrated our special 160-year relationship with the people of St. Patrick’s Parish and the students of St. Patrick’s School, our convent was gifted to the City of St. John’s for use as affordable housing for seniors. Through our involvement with the wider community on housing and ending homelessness in the city, we have seen more and more elderly people having great difficulty finding safe, affordable and comfortable places to live. We are grateful that we can give back to the city, to the people in whose lives we have shared so deeply. We recognized that this treasured chapter of our narrative is now completed: another begins as new stories are created at Nagle Manor.  Nagle Manor welcomed its first tenants in 2019. In the beginning, two units had been allocated to our Sisters as we continued to offer a Presentation presence.   We wish the residents joy in their new living space, equal to our own.
See more about the St. Patrick’s Closing Ceremony.

For over 150 years Presentation Sisters shared our gifts and leadership within the schools, parish and community of Carbonear until the convent closed in 2004. In 2008, in keeping with our Presentation commitment to care for the most vulnerable, we consulted with community leaders and social justice advocates who identified the need for a shelter outside the St. John’s area for women and children needing a safe haven from domestic abuse. We were very pleased to gift the convent in Carbonear, about 2 hours from St. John’s, as that safe haven, a place of warm hospitality and gentle compassion and a place of promise and possibility.  They themselves chose the name O’Shaughnessy House for one of our four founding Sisters, Sister Magdalen O’Shaughnessy, who in 1852 sent a group of Presentation Sisters to open a convent in Carbonear.

We as Presentation Sisters partnered with Iris Kirby House (a transition facility for vulnerable women in St. John’s, which we had long supported) and the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador to help make this project possible. Together we demonstrate to vulnerable women and children that they have the support of a caring community – an important aspect of the healing process for an abused woman and her family, as she moves towards a life free from domestic violence. While O’Shaughnessy House is administered by Iris Kirby House staff and operational funding is provided by the NL government, our legacy as Presentation Sisters lives on in this place.  While not directly involved on site, we continue to provide on-going support.

Formerly St. Francis Xavier Convent and School from 1947 – 1983, Xavier House in Corner Brook, opened its doors in 1985 as home for up to 20 women and men with complex mental health needs.  It continues to help address a pressing need identified by and within the community and is the only facility of its kind in NL. At the end of 2021, seeing an increasing need for more living space, we gifted the remaining part of the Convent.

Xavier House staff and volunteers, our Sisters among them, offer an atmosphere of love, healing, and joy, focused on respect and dignity while residents receive much-needed professional care. Myriad activities such as cards, painting, bowling, darts, sing-a-longs, and dancing, help residents explore their talents and simply have fun, while celebrating special days affords residents a sense of community, belonging and a good feeling about themselves that many have never experienced before, uplifting residents as well as staff!

Xavier House is separately incorporated with charitable status and is governed by a Board of Directors in conjunction with the Western Health Regional Authority. While the Presentation Sisters currently hold the licence and subsidize the operation for the benefit of the residents, the Sisters plan to move away from governance of Xavier House when planning is completed.

Click here for  Xavier House’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2010.

Click here for Sr Kay Rex’s 2021 Reflection on Xavier House.