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IE CA DB/12 · Person · 31 March 1873-11 February 1937

Francis Bernard Sheehan was born in Cork on 31 March 1873. His early studies were in Saints Peter and Paul school, the Christian Brothers’ school, the Presentations Brothers’ school, and finally at the Seraphic College in Rochestown in County Cork. He was received into the Capuchin Order on 2 February 1889. After the usual philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained in Holy Trinity Church, Cork, in July 1896. Shortly afterwards, he was transferred to the Kilkenny Friary where acted as a lector in philosophy. In November 1902 Fr. Luke volunteered for missionary work as a chaplain in Arabia where the Capuchin friars had established a Vicariate. He was soon appointed Pro-vicar Apostolic. He was charged with chaplaincy duties at British military and naval stations in Aden and did much visitation work in the interior of the country. While stationed in Aden he was taken ill with fever and was forced to return to Ireland to recuperate. Before he had fully recovered the priest who replaced him succumbed to the harsh climatic conditions prevailing in that part of the world. Fr. Luke immediately offered to return to Arabia, and he remained there until 1908. As Aden was then governed as part of British India, Fr. Luke also frequently visited India to conduct missions for troops, chiefly around Bombay (now Mumbai). He returned to Ireland in 1908. In 1910 he accompanied Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. on a journey to eastern Oregon to establish a new Capuchin mission in this territory. Fr. Dowling was appointed a Provincial Definitor (councillor) later in 1910 leaving Fr. Luke to work alone in Oregon until the arrival of Fr. Casimir Butler OFM Cap. He worked diligently in establishing parish communities in Hermiston and later in Bend on the Deschutes River in Oregon. The first church Bend was an old schoolhouse purchased in 1912 for $75. Fr. Luke later invited a group of nuns of the Order of St. Joseph to establish a hospital in the locality. With a growing population, a larger church was needed in Bend, and the foundation stone for the present-day St. Francis of Assisi Church was laid on 25 January 1920. It was built by E. P. Brosterhous at the cost of $55,000 and was officially opened and dedicated in the same year. St. Francis Catholic School in Bend (with an initial enrolment of 140) was opened in 1936. Fr. Luke served as a priest in Bend for twenty-seven years. He died in Hood River, Oregon, on 11 February 1937. His obituary in the ‘Bend Bulletin’ noted that ‘women cried and men who had known Father Sheehan since he came here in the early days were unable to control their sobs as the requiem mass was celebrated. Every available bit of space in the huge church, erected years ago through the efforts of Father Sheehan, was occupied as parishioners, churchmen and close friends of other faiths came to pay their respects to the priest who played such an important part in the religious and civic life of Bend. Occupying a pew in the crowded church were six members of the Protestant clergy of Bend’. Father Luke was buried beneath a Celtic Cross gravestone in Bend’s Pilot Butte Cemetery. For images of his memorial in Pilot Pilot Butte Cemetery in Bend, Oregon, see https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12540403/luke-sheehan

Baptismal name: Francis Bernard Sheehan
Religious name: Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 31 Mar. 1873
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: John Sheehan
Name of mother: Catherine Sheehan (née Sullivan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 2 Feb. 1889
Date of first profession: 4 Feb. 1890
Date of final profession: 18 Oct. 1894
Date of ordination (as priest): 2 July 1896
Missionary assignments: Ministered in Aden from 1902-08; Travelled to Oregan, United States, in 1910
Leadership positions: Custos, 1913-6; 1919-22
Date of death: 11 Feb. 1937
Place of death: Hood River, Oregon (while on supply from Bend, Oregon)
Place of burial: Bend, Oregon

IE CA DB/NS · Person · 18 May 1915-13 July 1997

Henry Shaw was born in Dungarvan in County Waterford on 18 May 1915. He joined the Capuchin Order in November 1933 and took Nessan as his religious name. He was ordained a priest on 29 June 1943. As a postgraduate student in University College Cork, he completed a thesis titled ‘The Life and Times of Fr. Theobald Mathew’ for an MA degree in 1939. He retained a life-long interest in the subject and accumulated many documentary sources, publications and notes pertaining to Fr. Mathew and his nineteenth-century campaign against intemperance. Most of his priestly ministry was spent in County Cork and he was a teacher for many years in the Seraphic College in Rochestown. For a brief period in the 1940s he worked as a missionary in Aden which was, as part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia, under the care of the Capuchin friars. On his return to Ireland, Fr. Nessan resumed his priestly duties in Cork. As an avid supporter of Gaelic games, he held several senior administrative positions with various clubs associated with ‘Cumann Lúthchleas Gael’ in Cork. Fr. Nessan edited a collection of essays on the history of the Irish Capuchins in the twentieth century (titled ‘The Irish Capuchins / Record of a Century’) which was published in 1985. The last sixteen years of his life were spent as parish priest in Gurranabraher, a residential suburb on the north-western side of Cork city. He died on 13 July 1997 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Capuchin Friary in County Cork.

Baptismal name: Henry Shaw
Religious name: Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 18 May 1915
Place of birth: Dungarvan, County Waterford
Name of father: Herbert Shaw (Baker)
Name of mother: Mary Anne Shaw (née Curran)
Date of parents’ marriage: 16 Oct. 1913
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 7 Nov. 1933
Date of first profession: 8 Nov. 1934
Date of solemn profession: 8 Nov. 1937
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1943
Educational attainments: BA, 1937; MA, 2nd class hons., 1939; Higher Diploma in Education
Date of death: 13 July 1997
Place of death: Bons Secours Hospital, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Sebastian Keens
AR 5 · Person · 28-09-1831 - 28-9-1891

Sebastian Keens C.P. Obituary by Fr. Dominic O'Neill C.P. 1891

The Province of St. Joseph has sustained a severe loss by the death of the Rev. Fattier Sebastian of the Blessed Sacrament, This zealous son of St Paul of the Cross, known in the world as Sebastian Keener lived 41 years in the Congregation and died on the anniversary of his birth on the 28th of September (1891) having been bom on the same date 1831.

The place of his birth was London and his parents were pious Catholics, his father having been converted from Protestantism in early youth. He entered the Congregation in 1849 and was the last novice accepted by the V. Rev. Fr. Dominic of the Mother of God. Having made his profession on the 14th February I850, tie years of his studies were marked by his love of the Holy Observance, and when in due time he was promoted to the Holy Order of the Priesthood, he was chosen Vice Master of Novices.

In 1858 he was sent by his superiors to St. Paul's Retreat, Mount Argus, Dublin, anc to this Retreat he remained attached until the time of his death, except from 1869 until 1872 during which interval he was Rector of St Joseph's Retreat Highgate, London.

It was thus at Mount Argus that the greater part of his Priestly life was spent, and here it was that he displayed that wonderful zeal for God's glory which so distinguished him. During the 30 years that he was connected with Mount Argus he was truly indefatigable in his labours. Frequently engaged on Missions in Ireland, England and Scotland his preaching drew thousands of poor sinners to the Sacraments, and every mission given by him was blessed by God with marvellous results. Without having much of the gift of eloquence property so called he spoke from the heart in his sermons and seldom failed to touch the hearts of his audience. In the duties of the confessional he laboured with unwearied assiduity, and never I seemed to rest while sinners were to be attended to in the Sacred Tribunal.

This is true of him not only on missions but i t was his daily life in the Retreat of Saint Paul.

He had a rare gift of attracting souls from the vanities of the world and placing them in the secure sanctuary of the Religious State, One of the greatest services he rendered to our Province was the number of pious and talented subjects who through his means entered the Congregation. Of these two were made Provincials, several Rectors and some of our most valued missioners were attracted to our institute under his direction. With the same zeal he led a great number of his female penitents to enter the Religious State, and it would be impossible to form an idea of the numbers who are now in convents in both hemispheres. The Sisters of the Passion gratefully acknowledge that their numerous convents in England and Ireland are filled with holy and zealous Religious who under God owe their vocation to his burning zeal.

Besides this wonderful life of zeal for God's glory and the sanctification of souls in the intervals between his missionary and spiritual labours he was for 30 years the zealous questor for the temporal wants of the community. To his exertions we are principally indebted for the spacious Retreat of St. Paul Mount Argus and its universally admired church. The words of the Psalmist can with truth be applied to him, "I have loved, O Lord, the zeal of Thy house and the place where Thy Glory dwelleth."

In his religious life he was remarkable for childlike simplicity of character. His obedience to his superiors was prompt and cheerful. His charity for his brethren was very great especially when any of the community were sick he would seek to procure for them whatever would alleviate their sufferings or tend to their comfort and he always gave great edification by speaking in praise of his brethren in the presence of seculars, thus-increasing the respect of all for his Mother the Congregation.

He was unremitting in his exertions to promote devotion to our Lord's Sacred Passion and this not only in sermons and in the confessional and through the Confraternity of the Passion attached to our church, but he established the Confraternity on missions wherever he could and invested great numbers with the Black Scapular of the Passion in all parts. Great also was his devotion to the Dolours of the Blessed Virgin and to the Divine Sacrament of the Attar. He wrote and published several volumes on our Lady's Dolours, The Manual of a Happy Death, Our Lord's Passion, The Blessed Sacrament, and Saint Michael which have passed through several editions. In this wa y did his zeal inspire him to labour for souls where his voice could not reach and took means that even after death he should yet speak to the hearts of many of God and the salvation of their souls.

His life of unremitting toil could but tell on his naturally strong constitution. For some time past his brethren could observe a great change in him and on Sunday morning the 30th August while in the confessional as was his custom at that time he felt suddenly unwell. He passed out to prepare to offer the Holy Sacrifice and while thus engaged he had suddenly a stroke of apoplexy. The medical attendant was soon with him. and for some time he seemed daily to improve having recovered the use of his right hand and side which were paralyzed. But on the 21st September he received a second stroke which paralyzed his left side and rendered him completely unconscious. In this state he remained with slight intervals of consciousness until the morning of the 28th September his 60th birthday when he calmly breathed his last fortified by the Sacraments of Holy Church. The day of his death was the eve of the feast of Si Michael to whom he had a special devotion. The colossal statue of St. Michael which now adorns the front of St. Paul's Church is due'to his exertions.

His obsequies were attended by about 80 priests secular and regular. The Most Rev. Dr. Woodlock, Bishop of Ardagh, presided at the Office, and the Requiem Mass was sung by the V. Rev. Fr. Gregory, Provincial of the Anglo-Hibernian Province. The vast numbers of the laity whom the spacious church could not contain attested to the esteem and respect in which tile good Father was held by the people in whose midst he had laboured so long and so faithfully.

We have no doubt that God has prepared as the reward of his laborious life a bright crown of eternal glory, but as he had to pass before the Judgement Seat of Him Who has declared "Ego justifies judicabo* I beg of your Reverence to have the usual suffrages offered for the repose of his soul.
Signed "Dominic of the Imm. Heart of Mary, Rector"/

Salvian Nardocci
AR 1 · Person · 19/10/1822

Father Salvian (Nardiocci) of the Seven Dolour.

Father Salvian of the VII Dolours, in seculo- Vincenzo Nardocci, was born in Carbognanq, diocese of Viterbo, Italy, on the I9th October I822.

Hia mother died when he was quite a child, and his father married again. The second wife was no exception to the general rule of stepmothers. The little Vincenzo was very harshly treated until he received a benifice when ten years of age and was partially emancipated from her control. He was enabled to study for the secular priesthood, but his thoughts were bent on a religious life.

When little more than 18 years of age, on April I6th 1841, he took the habit of our Congregation, and was professed on the I7th April of the following year.
In 1849 several young members of our Congregation were ordained in Sts. John and, Paul's, Rome. Of these four volunteered for the English Province. Frs, Salvian, Evarist, Raymund and Bernardine. Fr. Salvian was ordained too weak and delicate for a trying mission like England; but the then General, Fr. Anthony of St. James, prophesied that he would outlive his companions. Such indeed was the case.

He arrived in England on September 2Ist 1849. He was shortly afterwards made Vice-Master of Novices. In 1850 he was appointed Master of Devices and he fulfilled this office for more than 12 years. In I86j he was made Rector of Broadway and-in 1866 he became Rector of St. Anne's, Sutton.

In 1869 he came to the Retreat of St. Paul of the Cross, Dublin, and remained there with the exception of one year (from 1878 to 1879 when he discharged the duties of Rector of Sutton for a second time) until his death on the I7th of September 1896. Father Salvian was of slight build and seemingly of poor health; yet he was strong enough to keep the observance until his declining years, and was seldom subject to any infirmity.

As Master of Novices he was unrivalled. He was so gentle and withal, so firm that no one could resist his influence.

As Rector, he found money-matters and other annoyances belonging to the office too much for him, and always felt unhappy in such a position.

During his latter years his life was calm and full of good works. He was not a great orator or much of a missioner. His voice and strength did not suffice for these labours.
He was a most efficient confessor. Nearly all the religious went to confession to him. "The priests of Dublin looked upon him as their spiritual father, and the aity confided all their sorrows to his sympathetic keeping. He was universally loved and revered whilst a member of this community.

Within the last two years his memory began to fail, and in some degree his intellect. Such an affliction naturally deprived him of that geniality of character for which he had been all his life so remarkable.

His last illness was not a very long one. He seemed rather to waste away than to be hurried by any disease to the grave.

Numbers bewailed his loss; and one of his penitents, a secular priest, asked for the privilege of singing his Requiem Mass at his funeral.

Thus passed away calmly and without pain on the I7th of September (1896) the last of the pioneers who founded this Province.

Sacred Congregation of Rites
RM/SCR · Corporate body · 1588-1969

The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by Immensa Aeterni Dei; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969.

The Congregation was charged with the supervision of the liturgy, the dispensation of the decrees of Canonical coronations, other various sacraments, and the process of canonization of saints.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Congregation_of_Rites

CongR · Corporate body · 1587-2023

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13136a.htm

Sixtus V first erected by a Brief of 17 May, 1586, and afterwards, by the Constitution "Immensa", confirmed, a congregation "super consultationibus regularium" distinct from the congregation "super consultationibus episcoporum et aliorum prælatorum" mentioned in the same Constitution. In 1601 these two congregations were already combined in the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, to which, in course of time, were united three other congregations whose functions were closely related. These three were: the Congregation on the State of Religious (super statu regularium), created by Innocent X on 15 August, 1652, for the reformation of regulars in Italy, and suppressed by Innocent XII on 4 August, 1698; the Congregation on Regular Discipline (super disciplina regulari), instituted by Innocent XII on 18 July, 1695, for the reformation of regulars not only in Italy but throughout the whole world; the Congregation on the State of the Regular Orders (super statu regularium ordinum), created by Pius IX on 17 June, 1847. The last-named and the one on regular discipline were suppressed by Pius X, by the Motu Proprio of 26 May, 1906, which united these congregations with that of Bishops and Regulars. The new Constitution of Pius X abolishes the Congregation of Regulars and Bishops and transfers that part of its business which concerns bishops to the Congregation of the Council, and that part of it which concerns regulars to a congregation (oongregatio negotiis religiosorum sodalium præposita) created by the new Constitution, and which by common usage sanctioned by the legend on the official seal of the congregation, has received the name of Congregatio of Religious.

This body has the usual organization of the Roman Congregations. It is formed of several cardinals, who are chosen by the pope, and one of whom is the prefect of the congregation; these cardinals are assisted by a secretary and a sub-secretary, who are the major officials of the congregation, and by several minor officials. In regard to the latter it is to be noted that, as the amount of its business necessitates a division of the congregation into three parts (as in the case of the Congregation of the Sacraments), the highest dignitaries among the minor officials are the three assistants who are placed over the three sections. One of these sections has to deal with matters relating to religious orders; another, with the business of religious congregations or associations of men, of whatever nature those associations may be; the third, with business relating to congregations of women. This congregation also has a college of consultors.

The Constitution of Pius X clearly defines the competency of this congregation, which is to pass judgment upon all matters relating to religious persons of either sex, whether bound by solemn or by simple vows, or to those persons who, although they be not religious in the canonical sense of the word, live as religious — such as the oblates of certain communities of men or of women, who, without being bound by vows, live a common life under an approved rule. The third orders, consisting of seculars, are also under this congregation. It decides in litigations between members of religious orders, or between religious and bishops, and it is the competent tribunal in eases which have to be dealt with in the way of discipline (in via disciplinari) where a religious appears either as plaintiff or as defendant. Hence it is to be inferred, and indeed is expressly stated in the Constitution, that causes which have to be dealt with in the judicial way must be referred to the Rota, the rights of the Holy Office being always safeguarded. Finally, all common law dispensations to regulars pertain to this congregation, excepting dispensation from the Eucharistic fast, which, as said above, pertains to the Congregation of the Sacraments. The Congregatio of Religious is alone competent to approve new religions institutes and their constitutions, as well as to modify institutes already approved, and these being matters of grave importance, the full congregation deals with them.

VA/SCPF · Corporate body · 1622-2023

The Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, whose official title is "sacra congregatio christiano nomini propagando" is the department of the pontifical administration charged with the spread of Catholicism and with the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs in non-Catholic countries. The intrinsic importance of its duties and the extraordinary extent of its authority and of the territory under its jurisdiction have caused the cardinal prefect of Propaganda to be known as the "red pope".

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12456a.htm

IE CA DB/29 · Person · 27 August 1876-1 July 1950

Baptismal name: John (Patrick) Ryan
Religious name: Br. Pacificus Ryan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 27 Aug. 1876
Place of birth: Loughane, County Cork
Name of father: John Ryan
Name of mother: Catherine Ryan (née Cronin)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 2 July 1894
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1895
Date of final profession: 31 Jan. 1903
Ministries: A newspaper report on the golden jubilee of Br. Pacificus Ryan OFM Cap. in 1944 read: ‘Born in Cork, Brother Pacificus is a member of a well-known Cork family, and has several relatives in the city and county. During his long life in the Capuchin Order, he served in Kilkenny, and for a long number of years in Dublin, returning to Rochestown over twenty years ago. He served there in the capacity of sacristan and is a very popular and highly respected figure. He is looked upon as an authority on the Rubrics and Church ceremonies’.
Date of death: 1 July 1950
Place of death: South Infirmary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

IE CA DB/CR · Person · 6 March 1923-26 December 2010

Baptismal name: James Ruth
Religious name: Fr. Carthage Ruth OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 6 Mar. 1923
Place of birth: Enniscorthy, County Wexford (Diocese of Ferns)
Name of father: William Ruth
Name of mother: Margaret Ruth (née Dobbs)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1941
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1942
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 June 1949
Educational attainments: BA (1945)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Prefecture of Victoria Falls, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), in February 1950. Later, he undertook missionary work in the Archdiocese of Cape Town in South Africa. Returned to Ireland in 1971.
Date of death: 26 Dec. 2010
Place of death: Bon Secours convalescence home, Mount Desert, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

IE/ROS · Corporate body · 1700-2024

Administrative and Biographical History

The Institute of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation, founded in the early nineteenth century by Antonio Rosmini. The members of the order are referred to as “Rosminians” after their founder. The Congregation was approved by the Pope Gregory XVI in September 1839. As of the year 2020 the order Congregation is divided into six provinces. These provinces are the Irish-American Province, the Province of the England, Wales and New Zealand, the Italian Province, the Indian Province, the East-African Province and the Venezuelan Province. The world headquarters of the Institute of Charity is located at Rosmini College, Porta Latina, in Rome, Italy. The leader of the Institute of Charity is referred to as the Father General or sometimes as the Provost General. There have been eleven Fathers General with Antonio Rosmini being the first. They are (with years they were Father General):

Antonio Rosmini (died 1855)
Giambattista Pagani (1855-1860)
Piettro Bertetti (1860-1874)
Giuseppi Cappa (1874-1877)
Luigi Lanzoni (1877-1901)
Bernardino Balsari (1901-1935)
Giuseppi Bozzetti (1935-1956)
Giovanni Gaddo (1956-1989)
Giambattista Zantedeschi (1989-1997)
James Flynn (1997-2013)
Vito Nardin (2013-Present)

The Father General traditionally remained in his position until his death however in more recent times, the Father General may resign at 75. If the Father General wishes to not continue a vote by the curia is held to decide if this wish can be granted.
The Irish Province was founded in 1931. The first Rosminians in Ireland were led by a missionary named Aloysius Gentili who arrived to preach in 1848. Gentili died shortly after arriving in Dublin and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetry. His remains were later moved to Omeath in county Louth close to St. Michaels School which was ran by the Institute of Charity. The Irish Province has changed boundaries numerous times and at one time or another incorporated England, the United States of America, and New Zealand. Since 2019 the province consists of the island of Ireland and three houses in Florida. The province is controlled by a provincial and a provincial council who meet to discuss matters within the province. Past provincials include:

1. Thomas Hickey (1931-1948)
2. John Hickey (1948-1955)
3. Hugh MacFadden (1955-1964)
4. Benedict Forsyth (1964-1973)
5. Bernard McNally (1973-1976)
6. Charles O Sullivan (1976-1985)
7. James Flynn (1985-1991)
8. Patrick Pierce (1991-1997)
9. Matthew Gaffney (1997-2003)
10. Joseph O Reilly (2003-2010)
11. David Myers (2010-2014)
12. Joseph O Reilly (2014-Present)

The term held in the role of provincial is currently for a period of six years before new elections take place to decide the successor.
The Institute of Charity has owned numerous buildings across Ireland throughout its history. Each building fulfilled a different function with some changing function numerous times throughout their history. The buildings whose records are included in this collection are:
• St. Michael’s, Omeath, County Louth.
• St. Joseph's School for the Blind and other Drumcondra buildings.
• St. Joseph’s, Ferryhouse, County Tipperary.
• St. Patrick’s, Upton, County Cork.
• Glencomeragh, County Tipperary.
• Kilmurry House, Kilworth, County Cork.

Omeath
St. Michaels in Omeath, Co.Louth, came into the possession of the Institute of Charity in 1901 following the death of its previous owner, Edward MacCreanor, who wished to bequeath the building to a religious congregation. The building acted as a novitiate for the Rosminians in its early days before later becoming a juniorate in 1927. The diary from St. Michaels contains some interesting events from its early days as a novitiate including a visit in August 1921 by Margaret Pearse, mother of the Easter Rising rebel Pádraig Pearse, visits by Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence, reaction to the Anglo-Irish Treaty ratification in January 1922, and a raid by Free State soldiers in September 1922. Several improvements were made to St. Michael’s in the early days of Rosminian ownership including the installation of a new altar, the construction of the Calvary in 1908, the gifts of statues and the opening of St Michael’s as a Juniorate in 1927. In 1954 St. Michaels was recognized as a secondary school for boys, while girls were also allowed enter the school. It was primarily a boarding school however day students also were taught at the school. The school would close in 1986. The Rosminians also owned other property nearby to St. Michaels including a house in Fane Valley and numerous fields on the Cooley Peninsula. The Rosminians were also put in charge of Faughart Parish in County Louth in 1986 which they continue to run as of the year 2020.

Kilmurry House
The Rosminians bought Kilmurry House in Kilworth, Co. Cork, in 1931 after getting approval from Robert Browne, Bishop of Cloyne, to purchase the property in order to set up a novitiate. Correspondence and memorandums included in this collection relating to these negotiations with the Bishop of Cloyne highlight the processes religious congregations had to go through when wanting to purchase land in a diocese. After setting up the novitiate the Institute of Charity spent money on renovating the building as well as purchasing land nearby. The building sustained substantial damage following a fire in April 1953. The Institute of Charity sold the building in 1972. The Kilmurry House collection consists of a substantial number of letters and application forms from boys who wished to join the novitiate. These records have been arranged in alphabetical order of the boy’s names. The application forms contain information on each boy's family including the names of their parents, their addresses, the primary schools they attended, their dates of baptism, and their date of confirmation. Letters of recommendation from parish priests and family doctors are also included with the applications. The boys in their correspondence with the rector in Kilmurry explain their reasons for wanting to join the Institute of Charity and some also describe their family life and the occupations of other family members. Another important item of note is a catalogue of names of members of the Institute of Charity and students who attended the novitiate at Kilmurry House, County Cork between the years 1933 and 1937. This catalogue includes the age, rank, and the date of entry into the novitiate of those who resided there.

Glencomeragh
Glencomeragh was purchased by the Institute of Charity in 1960 and became a novitiate. A report contained in the Glencomeragh Collection describes the importance of Glencomeragh House during the founding of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God in Ireland. While under the ownership of the Rosminians the building had heating installed while a new chapel was constructed between 1981 and 1983. The Rosminians also owned other properties near Glencomeragh House which they rented out. In later years Glencomeragh House was used by the
Institute of Charity as a retreat centre and as a House of Prayer. In later years a major upgrade in the House of Prayer was the construction of hermitages on the property’s grounds to be used by those on retreat. The Institute of Charity handed over Glencomeragh House to the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in 2016 and it is now being ran by the Holy Family Mission as a retreat centre for young adults.

Ferryhouse
St. Joseph's Industrial School in Ferryhouse, County Tipperary was constructed by Count Arthur Moore. Completed in 1884, Moore handed over ownership of the school to the Institute of Charity shortly after the completion of the building. The Rosminians also purchased land at nearby Tickincor. The Ferryhouse collection contains important documents related to the details of boys who were placed into the care of the Institute of Charity throughout the history of the Industrial School including lists of boys who were accepted and discharged from the school and medical reports. The collection also contains examples of activities the boys carried out in the school, day trips undertaken and material from school plays.
A series of newspaper reports also explain important events which took place in St. Joseph's Industrial School including a visit by Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland, in August 1984; the opening of a £1,000,000 new complex at Ferryhouse in January 1983; reports regarding craft work and classes in arts and crafts in Ferryhouse; an early newspaper report concerning the qualifications for the teachers involved in the school, the public perceptions of institutions like the school at Ferryhouse and the training offered to the students. Items such as menus provide information on the types of food eaten by the boys in St. Josephs while newspaper articles, while reports contain information on the conditions inside the school and the types of punishments the boys faced if they disobeyed the rules.
Other associations became important to the functioning of the industrial school in Ferryhouse. This included the Resident Managers Association and the Association of Workers in Childcare. The Resident Managers Association was formed primarily by heads of religious institutions which had the responsibility for caring for neglected and poor children while the
Association of Workers in Childcare catered for residential child care workers in Ireland and was primarily concerned with the maintenance of standards of child care and of training for the profession in the country. Records relating to both associations are contained in the Ferryhouse Collection.
As well as the running of the Industrial School the Institute of Charity purchased and rented out property and land close to Ferryhouse. This included property in Laganore, Tickincor, Glenconnor, Poulboy and Clonmel. Henry Shannon and Co. solicitors from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, assisted the Institute of Charity regarding issues that arose concerning the renting and sale of these properties. The Ferryhouse collection also includes the legal documents and folios containing the agreements and the property details of the properties owned by the Institute of Charity close to Ferryhouse.
St. Joseph's Industrial School was transferred to the Department of Education in 2002. Documentation regarding the transfer is included in the Ferryhouse collection.

St. Joseph's School for the Blind

St. Joseph's School for the Blind, now known as Childvision, is located on Gracepark Road in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. The school was founded by the Discalced Carmelite Order who began their work with the blind in Glasnevin in 1859 before moving to the current site in 1882. By 1953, a reduction in their personnel meant that the Carmelites were no longer able to maintain this service and the Archbishop of Dublin, who was the patron of the Carmelites, approached the Superiors of the Institute of Charity to take over the running of the school. After taking over the school the Institute of Charity expanded the facility with the construction of new buildings in the 1960s. By the 1970s a secondary school, Pobailscoil Rosmini, had been established on Gracepark Road alongside the School for the Blind. Boys who attended the School for the Blind could complete their secondary education. By the mid-2000s further expansion of the school was proposed. The Drumcondra collection contains extensive material on proposed plans, minutes of meetings and correspondence between government, contractors and the Board of the School for the Blind concerning the creation of National Centre for the Blind on the site of School for the Blind. This never materialised.
A number of other properties were owned by the Institute of Charity in Drumcondra including 2 Grace Park Gardens and 1 Grace Park Gardens. These properties were rented out to various organisations, details of which are included in the collection. Clonturk House on the Ormond Road in Drumcondra is the current provincial house of the Institute of charity in Ireland. Before becoming the provincial house, it was as a centre for blind adult men. The Drumcondra collection contains mostly administrative documentation on Clonturk House including financial documentation, a speech from the silver jubilee of Clonturk House about the history of the building, medical reports on the men who were cared for there, and mass books.

Africa
The Institute of Charity have been carrying out missionary work in the African country of Tanzania since they first arrived there in 1945. The African collection contains correspondence between the early Rosminian missionaries in Tanzania and Thomas Hickey, Provincial of the Irish Province of the Institute of Charity, describing their journeys to Tanzania, mostly by boat, the conditions they met when they arrived in Tanzania and the work, they had carried out following their arrival. A diary written by Frank Kennedy describes in detail his journey by boat and train from Dublin to Tanzania between November 1945 and December 1945. Another diary written by an unknown author documented the early days of the mission in Rangwe, Tanzania, in the arrival of Walter Dick and John Reid and the famine conditions faced in Tanzania throughout 1953. The collection also contains photographs, estimated to have been taken in the 1960s, which show examples of the missionary work being carried out in Tanzania as well as the customs and traditions of the Tanzanian people including a traditional Tanzanian wedding.
Aid was important for the continuation of the missionary work carried out by the Institute of Charity in Tanzania. There was frequent correspondence between the Rosminians and aid organisations such as Gorta and the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Irish government in order to secure aid for the missionary work. Aid contributed towards improvement in educational facilities, agriculture, the construction of mills, the construction of an arts and crafts centre, and electricity and water infrastructure. Meetings of the African Chapter were also frequently held and discussions were had on formation in Africa, preparations for religious festivals, relations with the Irish Province, and the beatification of Antonio Rosmini.

Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites played a part in the history of the Institute of Charity. The history of the discalced Carmelites in Drumcondra and also in areas such as Glasnevin and Clondalkin have been preserved in this collection thanks to Patrick Keaveney and Vincent Corcoran, both discalced Carmelites who kept documents, items and photographs related to the Carmelites going back to 1825. The discalced Carmelites were present in monasteries in Glasnevin and Clondalkin. The oldest documents included in this collection include the transfer of obedience of the Carmelite Brothers of Clondalkin to the Archbishop of Dublin in August 1837, lists of members of the Discalced Carmelites who died in the monasteries in Drumcondra and Clondalkin between 1828 and 1963 and correspondence regarding the construction of an avenue to Glasnevin Cemetery in the 1830s on land belonging to the Carmelites. The discalced Carmelites founded St. Joseph's School for the Blind in Glasnevin before moving to Drumcondra on the site of Drumcondra Castle. The collection includes receipts containing information on construction work that was carried out in the school in Drumcondra including the construction of a staircase and of new buildings. Other documents include more personal documents belonging to Carmelite Brothers including death certificates, birth certificates, wills, and personal correspondence. The discalced Carmelites also owned properties in Dublin that they rented including properties on Prussia Street. In 1955, St. Joseph's School for the Blind was transferred to the Institute of Charity following negotiations between the Archbishop of Dublin, the Institute of Charity and the discalced Carmelites. It was agreed that the remaining Carmelites would continue to be resident in St. Joseph's following the takeover by the Institute of Charity. This collection is an important collection regarding the early history of the School of the Blind in Drumcondra and the education of blind men and boys in Ireland during the nineteenth century.