CAUSE Highlights in Photos
The Process of Sainthood
Mother’s Cause Crosses Into Canada
For more than a century the Mount Carmel Monastery in Ontario Canada, overlooking Niagara Falls, has been home to the Carmelites. It opened as a monastery and hospice June 10, 1899. It became a seminary in 1920 and in 1979 it adopted its current role as a Spiritual Center. On March 13th a presentation on Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, O. Carm., as part of the monthly Carmelite Spirituality Series, was given by Father Jay Comerford, O. Carm. a Retreat Director there.
Father Jay’s presentations on Mother Angeline include listing some of the innovations Mother introduced into the care of the elderly–most of which are now enshrined in law in most homes for the aged. Fr. Jay noted, “She was truly revolutionary. Like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, she too received a “call within the call” to do something a bit different from the way she had first set out.”
Mother Angeline isn’t a stranger to Father Jay. During a preached retreat last summer on 20th Century Carmelite Saints or Saints-to-be, Mother Angeline was the final person he talked about. Father Jay recalls: “of the people I spoke about, Mother Angeline was the only one I had met…Six weeks before I was ordained a priest, I was at Carroll Manor in Maryland where I taught American Church History to the elderly. While I was sitting in the lobby waiting for the home’s administrator, suddenly a young Sister rushed in the door carrying satchels. She talked to the receptionist about room assignments. Then a tall, older Sister walked in and sat in the chair next to the front door. It was Mother Angeline.”
“I was startled to recognize her. Then my internal dialogue began – should I go over and talk to her or not? What would I say? Knowing that I may never have another chance, I got up and walked over. I introduced myself as a Carmelite Deacon who was about to be ordained and that I had been teaching the elderly at Carroll Manor for two years…that back in 1968 as a novice, on Saturdays I worked as an orderly at Garvey Manor in Hollidaysburg, PA. And that I was from Joliet, Illinois where the Sisters ran St. Pat’s Residence in the converted Louis Joliet Hotel. She thanked me for my service in her different houses. She asked the date of my ordination so she could pray for me on that day. After this chance meeting, I rushed home for vespers and dinner. I said to myself, ‘Well, I got to meet a saint!’’”
A Dream Come True
I have been involved in the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, O.Carm., since July of 1992. So often I have seen photos of and read about the birthplace of Mother in 1893 in Northern Ireland, in a town then called Mountjoy. Finally, last September 13th, 2015, I got the opportunity to visit and it was a marvelous moment. We left Our Lady’s Manor in Dalkey, Dublin with Sister Maria Therese, O.Carm., at the wheel, accompanied by Sister Margaret Edward, O.Carm., and Sister Theresa Marie, O.Carm. We drove up into Northern Ireland to County Tyrone in the Archdiocese of Armagh, and were warmly greeted by the Parish Priest of Clonoe Parish, Father Benedict Fee. Father is an indefatigable proponent of Mother’s Cause. The Sisters and I joined in the parish Mass at Clonoe, and wouldn’t you know that one of the altar servers, a girl, bore the same name as Mother Angeline’s own mother, Brigid Taggart! A small shrine for Mother is set up in the Church. During the homily, I emphasized Mother Angeline’s hospitality and care for people, particularly the Aged and Infirm. After Mass and greeting the many people present, the Sisters and I were interviewed for the newspaper the Irish Independent.
After a lovely lunch in the Presbytery and my meeting privately with some parishioners, we all went to the Brocagh Parish Church where Mother Angeline was baptized and, where again, there is a small shrine near the baptismal font. Despite the rain, many people were present for the rosary and my talk. I spoke about Mother Angeline’s total giving of herself to the Lord and to the work of the Church and care of the elderly. It was touching and so moving to be there where so many early events of Mother’s life unfolded, and to see the faith and character of the people, while in a sense, exploring Mother Angeline’s roots. I will never forget this experience, and will always treasure visiting the Venerable’s home, a dream come true, and gaining a still deeper insight into Mother’s character.
Father Mario Esposito, O.Carm.
Vice-Postulator
Vice-Postulator for Cause Visits Clonoe, Ireland
Very Rev. Mario Esposito, O.Carm.
A VATICAN-appointed miracle investigator is travelling to rural Co Tyrone to search for evidence of a new saint.
Fr Mario Esposito will visit Clonoe parish outside Coalisland on Sunday as part of his investigations into the life of the Venerable Mother Mary Angeline.
Born Brigid Teresa McCrory and originally from Brocagh, Mother Angeline founded an order of nuns who cared the elderly and infirm in New York.
Efforts towards the nun’s canonisation gathered pace in 2012 when Pope Benedict XVI declared her ‘venerable’ – one of the steps on the path to sainthood. CONTINUE READING
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