Mount St. Anne’s Retreat & Conference Centre nestles in the very beautiful pastoral landscape of the midlands with distant views of the Wicklow/Dublin mountains to the east and the gentle slope of the Slieve Blooms to the south, combined with rolling parkland and stately trees to create an atmosphere of serenity. One has the strong sense that the very walls and earth of this place have a powerful spiritual imprint immediately resonant with the life lived there by Presentation people over the past 90 years.
The beautiful building once residence to the Bishop of the Diocese, Dr. Cullen was sold to the Presentation Sisters in 1933 when the house was named Mount St. Anne’s. The Presentation Sisters took up residence on July 26th 1933, the Feast Day of St. Anne. On January 2nd, 1935 the first novices and postulants arrived, and on January 6th, Dr. Cullen solemnly opened the noviciate and imparted the Papal Blessing to the Community.
This year on the 26th July 2023, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of the dedication of the Centre to St. Anne.
Mount St. Anne’s began its life as a Retreat and Conference Centre in 1978 offering retreats for students, adults and groups. Within the modern and beautiful house that is Mount St. Anne’s today there are facilities for conferences, workshops and meetings and so much more.
The Presentation Sisters with the Staff Team there continue to warmly welcome individuals and groups, who wish to grow in faith, renew themselves in prayer and search for God’s plan in their lives.
Here’s to the next 90 years!!!
[Image: (L-R) Sisters Catherine Codd, Peig O’Rourke, Consilli Kavanagh and Anne McDermott who all completed their noviciate at Mount St. Anne’s].Note: The house is also home to a small community of Presentation Sisters, and the grounds also encompass a rather special HeartAflame! Visitor Centre where you are immediately drawn in to explore, discover and experience who Nano Nagle was, and is now, for people all over the world. The exhibition content invites you to meet and engage with the life and experiences of those who got to know Nano Nagle from the early days of the Sisters in Ireland in the 1700s, through to the present time. The content is highly visual and interactive and mixes images and infographics with videos. See HERE
See also
To book please email: ceo@mountstannes.com
For further information visit the website: Mt St. Anne’s » Retreats & Courses (mountstannes.com) Mt. St. Anne’s Retreat & Conference Centre Killenard, Portarlington, Co. Laois Tel: +353(57)8626153.