Cathal Reilly

Deceased Sisters

Cathal Reilly - United Kingdom
15/04/1923 - 09/05/2019

Mary Kate Reilly was born in a small village called Cloonaughill about one mile from Charlestown in County Mayo, Ireland on 15^th February 1923. She was the second child in a family of five children. She was predeceased by three members of her family. Her youngest sister, Mrs Josephine O’Donohue, is the only surviving member of her family.

After attending the National School she was fortunate to continue her education at the Marist Convent in Tubbercurry as a boarder, in what were very challenging times in Ireland.

It was while visiting her sister Josephine in the Dawros and going to Mass in Benada Abbey that Mary saw the plight of orphan children and knew that she wanted to become a carer focussing on children. Mary responded to a call to Religious Life by entering St Brigid’s Novitiate when she had completed her schooling. She was received as a Novice on 17^th August 1942, when she was given the name Sr Cathal, the Irish for Charles, and made her First Profession on 18^th August 1943.

After her First Profession she was sent to Nympsfield where she was able to fulfil her wishes to care for children. Sr Cathal was one of the first in England, to attend the Child Care Course in Birmingham to obtain the Certificate of Proficiency in Residential Child Care, in 1947.

Nympsfield had a heavy fall of snow which drifted in 1962. Because the drifts in the road between the Convent and St Anthony’s were so deep, Sr Cathal who was in charge of the teenage girls living there, had to trudge through the fields to bring them the necessities.

Sr Cathal was very devoted to the young people in her charge, extremely generous, thinking of the good of the individual and completely forgetful of herself. She cared for them with the heart of a mother and often drove them to various functions and collected them from the same.

There was a unique event, a wedding from St Anthony’s, in the summer of 1966. The charming wedding procession made its way from the cottage on the hill through excited villagers, all in Sunday best to the small rustic church, St Joseph’s. Regina Depko, the bride, with her two sisters as her bridesmaids, were Polish refugees who had been in care with the Marist Sisters for years. When Regina had finished her education she took a job in Dursley, but made St Anthony’s her home.

In 1968 Sr Cathal was appointed leader of the Community in Hythe. From 1971 to 1974 she continued her ministry with the children in care. In 1974 she became Community Leader in Nympsfield. After her three years’ mandate she continued with her child ministry until 1981 when she was appointed as Community Leader in West Byfleet until 1984.

From there she went to Fulham as Community and School bursar. In 1991 Sr Cathal once more was assigned to Hythe as bursar and cook to Villa Maria. She returned to the convent in 1996.

In 2006, after ten years of retirement, during which time she carried out various community ministries, she moved to the Villa. At that time Sister was active and able to join the Sisters in the chapel, dining-room and whenever there was an interesting activity in the community room, e g a musical afternoon, bingo or singing.

During the later years she became immobile and was confined to her room. She had difficulty in communicating, but was well looked after by the management and wonderful caring staff. She died peacefully on the morning of 9^th May 2019.

Following a Requiem Mass in Villa Maria on 23^rd May 2019, attended by her sister, other family members and Marist Sisters, Sister Cathal, surrounded by her Marist family and her relatives, was laid to rest in Hawkinge Cemetery.

Her nephew John writes:

My first memories of Sr Cathal, was when she visited Enniscrone with a group of girls from Nympsfield, they were on summer vacation. I will never forget her coffee cake – home baked of course. I ate so much of it I was sick all the way home, and couldn’t look at a coffee cake for years after.

The first time I was in Hythe to visit Sr Cathal was in the mid 1970’s. I was with cousins and friends for a bank holiday weekend and Sr Cathal put us all up and fed us for the whole weekend. We had a fabulous time! I often wondered what the other nuns thought of this crazy bunch descending on the Convent. But that was Sr Cathal.

Sr Cathal never forgot birthdays or special family occasions. I can still see the Birthday Card she sent me for my seventh birthday. It had a badge with the age on it. I wore it with pride for weeks after.

The qualities I remember most about Sr Cathal was her caring and loving nature. There was always a lovely aura of peace and calmness about her. Her loving nature may have had something to do with the fact that she was born on February 14^th – St Valentine’s Day.

Sr Cathal is pre-deceased by her brothers Charles and John and her sister Bridie. I have no doubt that she is today reminiscing with them about old times and a life well lived, and is now smiling down on all of us.

Deceased Sisters

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